Bequia was a wonderful place to raise my children, everyone knew who they were and where they belonged. They could never get lost, you never had to warn them not to talk to strangers and they had wonderful places to play. I rarely had to worry about Vanessa and Rachel while I was at work, they were well taken care of by their nanny Arleus as well as Momma Simmons and Mac.
My children had a seasonal mother, and I often felt guilty that I saw so little of them during the winter months. I was at work before they woke up in the morning and they were removed from the house while I had an afternoon nap. I would feed them dinner myself but was always in a hurry to get back to the Pizzeria, not an ideal way to bring up children but that’s the way it had to be.
When the off-season came around life was different, I had all the time in the world to be with the girls. We spent a lot of days at the beach, Lower Bay when they were small and Hope Beach when they got bigger. Vanessa and Rachel learned how to swim at an early age, pretty much as soon as they could walk, and loved nothing better than to spend an afternoon in the kiddy pool outside De Reef. Mac would take them for boat rides, and they learned how to sail while they were still quite young.
By the time Rachel was born a lot of my friends were in the process of having babies; George and Vera had Adam, Chris and Vanessa had Clara and Bob and Maranne would soon have Brett and Ross. There were many playmates for the girls, and the Island beaches were their playgrounds.
My parents loved those two little girls with a passion. When I complained to my mother that she was spoiling them she would tell me that’s what Grandmothers are for! I remember mom’s amazement the first time she saw Vanessa wearing water wings, she thought they were an incredible invention. Never a strong swimmer herself, she wished they had been around when her own children were small.
Life was good in the early ‘80s. Business (although very seasonal) was booming, we had happy, healthy children and Island life was still blessedly simple. In years to come I would worry about the standard of education on the Island, but while the children were small Bequia was idyllic.
I remember so well the ease and joy of raising Julia on Bequia. You’re so right about not having to worry. Julia would disappear from the house and a few hours later we’d hear a shout from outside “Miss Joni, Julia home” and there she’d be with some neighbor who’s taken her shopping in Port Elizabeth. Or I’d be in the harbor and there she’d be at the market or Frangipani with everyone looking after her. It was wonderful.