A Legacy of Strong, Quirky Women...

It's funny how some thoughts just smack you in the head out-of-the-blue whilst contemplating a cup of tea.

I come from a line of extraordinarily strong, though quirky women. The women in my ancestral line on my mother's side have been both strange and inspiring.

Take, for instance, my Ouma. My mother didn't get on with Ouma as much as I didn't get on with my mother, yet Ouma was amazing to us grandchildren.

She was also a touch crazy.

I wrote once in my Tastes Like Llama blog about how she went to see the Chippendales with my sister and she was the badly behaved one stuffing ten Rand notes down their G-strings.

Then there's the mad Auntie Carol who came to counsel me on how to get divorced. She also told me, "Tammy, all men are dogs. And just like a dog, a man can be trained." She is a very scary lady... and I suspect she may be a closet dominatrix. (No offence, Mistress Davina, my darling.)

Despite her complete insanity and weirdness and depression, my mother too was a strong woman. She practically carried her side of the family through every tragedy, drama, crisis that came along. Everyone in my family has at one time sat at my mother's kitchen table and had a cup of coffee and a cigarette while discussing their woes.

And then there's my sister. My sister who I love, but who never gives herself enough credit. Who shines and stands tall and is becoming Queen of the House.

A friend and I got my sister kicked out of intensive care after her thyroid operation ten years ago. That very evening she threw her hospital dinner at the hospital chef and told him he was a disgrace to the profession and a poor excuse for a chef. (My sister is a chef herself.)

I love that there are these magnificent, independent, crazy and talented women whose energy has been passed from generation to generation. I always wonder which woman started it all and what her life was like. But you can't hold one of us down. We have sharp tongues, a fighting spirit and resilience. We are brave, funny and often sensitive women. We've all made very stupid mistakes in our lives.

But this is my legacy. With all its craziness, feuding and unacknowledged strength, I am glad to be part of this clan of truly magnificent women.