Day 3 - Matthew

Day 3 comes on the tail of day 2, posted earlier today but I am trying to catch up now...hehe

Matthew, for those who don't know us, is our eldest...our first born....our blue eyed boy and only because his eyes ARE blue and Mark and NiQi's are brown.

Matthew makes me happy...
He is one of those children who can make you want to tear your hair out one minute and the very next your heart melts with love.

We have a special mother/son bond that has stood the test of time.

He was always the child I worried about. Unlike Mark who was brave enough to stand up for himself and NiQi who went with the'flow', Matthew was very easily influenced as a youngster. Years of being under my thumb, youth and Sunday School, taught him as he got older, to stand for truth, honesty and loyalty.

He had a tough time growing up with cousins that bullied him and pushed him around and an infinite love for his brother who he fiercely protected. He matured early and was wise beyond his years. With Johan away so often for badminton, birds or work, he became my sounding board for advise. He listened and he helped me in so many ways.... looking back I realize that he had far more placed on his shoulders than any child should have had to deal with.

When he was 11 he saw and lived the turmoil our family went through after the death of his ouma and just 7 weeks later the death of his brother. He endured what no child should have had to. Yet through all of these challenges he managed to excell both in the classroom and on the sports field, earning an academic scholarship to St Charles College and playing for their 1st rugby team post matric.

In his final year of school a life changing event happened that affected the rest of his year and ultimately the rest of his life. His faith pulled him through as he carried this secret with him for the next 12 years, dealing with it in his own way. This secret was revealed in the most malicious of ways by someone whom he had loved and trusted with his life. Revealing it was the beginning of the end of the relationship. The trust was gone and with it everything else he held dear.

The last year has been the worst and the best in his life. A chapter closed that he never dreamed would close and a new one began, a better one.... one that has given him more peace and happiness than he ever imagined would come his way.

He is our boy, our son, full of integrity, striving for truth, putting the past behind him and looking ahead to a brighter, happier more fulfilling future. He is my happiness today....