My parents met at school at ages 11 in 1973 where they passed each other in the hallway on a daily basis. After leaving school, my parents decided to meet and catch up with old school friends. At age 20 they started dating. This was the start of their 35 year relationship.
After dating for a year, and a half they welcomed their first child Cornel Holland in 1983 and moved into their first apartment in the same year. At this time my mum worked as a back office clark at a central heating company (ServoWarm). After two years of living together and raising their first son, my dad proposed, they were both 24.
They then welcomed their first daughter Sadiece holland in 1987, prior to moving into their first house.
10th of September was an exciting day for the family as my mum and dad got married, they welcomed their second daughter Akira in '93, their second son Jamahl in '95 and their last daughter, Thema in 1996.
A few years after working as a IT specialist in media systems, Derek got an offer to work in Abu Dhabi. After discussing the idea they began packing up their lives in the UK and preparing for a lifelong adventure in the UAE (United Arab Emirates).