v is for vendetta err... vonderwall
as in, my surname. yes, it's my real name. no, it's not dutch. it's actually german; my father's grandparents were german emigrants to australia years before the war. they settled in convict-free south australia, and that's the end of the story. how boring! except, 'von der wall' translated literally means 'of the wall'. which wall? the royal wall. as in, the castle. yep; german royalty. hiya! *waves*
i guess that explains a bit about why i'm a bit of a princess, no? well, i am. an only child to my mother, but the second child (but only daughter!) for my father, i guess i was always a bit spoiled. not in the traditional "here have everything and be a good girl" kind of way, but i guess i never really 'went without'. my mum has always worked, and my dad stayed home when i was young and into the first few years of school. with one main income it certainly wasn't as if i was getting new toys and 'stuff' on a weekly basis. i had a lot of hand-me-downs from older cousins, and the occasional 'treat' when out shopping with my mum.
the vonderwall clan is pretty small. my dad has one older brother, who has three boys and one girl to carry on the bloodline (and they've all done a bang up job, coincidentally, with 12 or so kids between them). which is just as well really, because i'm pretty sure no children will ever have the pleasure of being spawned from these loins. i mentioned an older brother; shawn was my dad's first born, and only son, and was 17 (seventeen!) when i was born. because of the massive age gap, he was never really 'like a brother' to me, but he was always around. when i was a teen, he was the cool adult, who would take me and my friends to the shops instead of our parents, buy me the 'trendy' christmas presents, and take me for drives in his 'cool car' - we'd think it was awesome, and i was proud to have him as my brother.
sadly, shawn passed away when i was 17 (seventeen!). he had a massive heart attack while playing squash with a friend, and died before they got him to hospital. that was a horrible time for my dad, and i guess things have never really been the same for us since. now i really am, an only child.
all things considered, and despite being a bit of a brat, i think i turned out ok.
ok, so maybe i don't like doing dishes, and maybe i am a bit untidy, and perhaps i can get a bit moody from time to time (boyfriend will attest to that)(maybe more than just 'from time to time', but whatever man), but i'd like to think that i make my mum proud. i'm a caring, sharing individual. i know how to love and be loved. i am good with money, cook exceptionally well-rounded and healthy meals, and often buy household cleaning products. i don't take people for granted, value friendships and would rather one great friend than ten okay friends. i've come along way from home, and i'm survivin' this big bad ride called 'life'. i'm not really sure how this post got to this point, but here we are nevertheless.
i'm almost 30. i guess that means i'm an adult now right? well, kudos to the vonderwall clan for giving me the strength to make it this far - and this far away from them. haha, not really, i do love 'em.
(we'll see if i'm still saying that after i spend a week with them)
please don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway with thanks to the oriental magpie too!
please don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway with thanks to the oriental magpie too!
