I wasn’t a particularly academic student at school, but one of the (very few) things I do remember, is reading our set work in English, Richard the Third, by Shakespeare, and I remember Richard’s famous line “now is the winter of our discontent”.  Well, I have to say, that winter 2012 has been my personal winter of severe discontent. 

However, in life, which is a great relief, things change and turn – like the seasons.  This morning, I saw the first signs of blossom on our apricot trees – there are no words to explain my excitement at this sighting.  You would have thought someone had just walked in and handed me a cheque for R10 million, or, that a delicious man had just walked in and asked me out on a date – both of these scenarios are pretty unlikely at the moment.

But back to the seasons – spring has almost sprung, and I am hoping that this means that things are changing, that there is new life, new growth, renewal, and most of all new life opportunities.

When I look back on winter 2012, I do think my discontent hit an all-time high one evening recently when I was sitting down and “budgeting”.  This is something I am not fond of, but have had to become accustomed to until I claw my way back to financial abundance.  I realized that there was more output than input, and I realized that I was indeed very stressed.

I thought of a quick solution – go to Woolies and buy a bottle of their “house wine”.  It seemed like my best laid plan.  So off I went, only to discover that the notes in my wallet would only allow for a (small) box of Longmarket Sauvignon Blanc, and the notes did not extend to a full bottle.  Now I was in a dilemma.  I have to admit, I have always looked down my powdered nose at boxes of wine – sayings like “I would never dream of drinking that!” or when I go to a restaurant, and ask for a glass of wine, and ask what wine it is, if the answer is “I am not sure, it is out of the box at the front desk” I look horrified and change my order to a gin and tonic immediately!  And so here I was – do I walk away, go home empty handed with no chance of that precious glass, or do I wind my non-wrinkled neck in, buy the box and celebrate the day?  I have to say, in terms of “the money or the box”, the box won.  Hands down.

That box has done me very well, I have to say, and coupled with a lot of ice and a dash of soda, it is not too bad at all, and does get better as it matures through the evening. 

Today, I had two startling realisations, both of them very good indeed.  Firstly, spring is on its way, and no-one is more delighted than I am, and secondly, after starting a very lovely part-time job yesterday, I realized that for the first time in one year, yesterday, my financial input was greater than my output instead of the other way around.  This is a fabulous feeling, and so, I have decided a further two things – firstly I will hold onto that box of wine to always remind me of those days and how far I have come and, secondly, tonight, I am off to the bottle store to buy a BOTTLE of wine!