September 2019/Fairlady 37doesn’t happen to you; you happen
to life. So you need to decide
what you want. You need to take
your power back and know your
value. Don’t look for that value
and love in men. You have to first
understand who you are. And
make sure when you enter a room,
you stand tall. Don’t hide behind
your circumstances.” She instilled
that confidence in me at a stage in
my life when I wasn’t sure whether
I was coming or going.’
Even when it came to buying
Fiona’s matric dance tickets
or getting her lunch when she
couldn’t afford it, Audrey filled
in as a mother. But just like any
mother, Audrey also had to show
Fiona some tough love.
‘She’d be brutally honest about
life,’ says Fiona. ‘She would never
sugar-coat things. She made me
understand that you have to work
for everything you want. I always
used to think about her advice
and wonder: “How can you say
that to me when you have no idea
where I’m headed? I don’t have
the resources; I don’t even havea mother!” Yet now, these are
the same lessons I teach my
own children.’
Now mother to a 14-year-old,
a 10-year-old and a seven-year-old,
Fiona is still in contact with both
Mary and Audrey. Mary and Fiona
keep in contact via social media,
and Audrey stays in touch via
WhatsApp.
‘She still guides me and
motivates me,’ says Fiona. ‘And
she always reminds me that I’m
the best thing that could have
happened to my kids!’The kids are alright
‘Ms Simpson only taught me English,
but she became my second mother,’