Monthly Archives: April 2015

30 Apr 2015

Fortuna

By Cal McDonnell / No Comment

The family is back into the swing of school life and Term 2 has surged forth with a vengeance along with my work load. As a result, when I am not doing my day job, at the moment, I am re-reading Othello and proof reading a persuasive speech on global warming (one of my least favourite topics) and helping out with algebraic equations that still have no meaning or purpose in my life. Bibliophile I may be, yet, you will seldom see me curled up with a Shakespearean play or sonnet. Regardless, I am the go-to parent for interpretation

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21 Apr 2015

Life in Reverse

By Cal McDonnell / No Comment

If you have not yet explored the thing of beauty know as The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, you are in for a treat.The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of invented words written by John Koenig. Each original definition aims to fill a hole in the language—to give a name to emotions we all might experience but don’t yet have a word for. I am a little bit in love with this word and its meaning: Avenoir  - the desire to see memories in advance We take it for granted that life moves forward. But you move as a

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19 Apr 2015

Remembrance

By Cal McDonnell / No Comment

When I was in my late 20’s I migrated from Zimbabwe to South Africa to marry my wife. I landed myself this plum job as an English teacher at a very posh school in Johannesburg. The school was one of a number  Jewish Day Schools servicing the Jewish families of Johannesburg  and I spent nearly two years of my life there teaching and taking part in many Jewish traditions and rituals. Every Friday I would wear my Yarmulke and attend shul (synagogue), I went to Bat Mitzvahs and Bar Mitzvahs and the Brit Milah (Bris) prayers for

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09 Apr 2015

Living into Your Name

By Cal McDonnell / No Comment

I remember when my wife was pregnant with our daughter and we were in that exciting phase of guessing the gender of our baby and then choosing a name. We were super keen to know what we were having, but the baby was not sharing anything during any of the scans we had. We presumed we were having a boy and decided the baby would be called Matthew following an ancient (and somewhat purposeless) tradition in my family of alternating first born males with the name Callan Mathew and then Matthew Callan.  With Rosh Hashanah fast

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02 Apr 2015

Regrets

By Cal McDonnell / No Comment

I know this might be a bit of a sombre thought but have you ever wondered what might be your biggest regret if you were to discover you were about to die. I had the great pleasure last year to attend a conference where Bronnie Ware spoke. Bronnie was a palliative care nurse for a number of years and supported people through their  final moments. She has written a beautiful book called the “Five Regrets of the Dying”. Want to know what the number one regret is? Well, when people realise that their life is almost over and look

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