We are one
The pain of a terrorist attack on your country cuts deep … there is the feeling our nation has irrevocably shifted and separated from a perceived innocence thanks to one individuals ‘right wing white supremacist’ views. Together, we are one His target ~ the Islamic community in Christchurch … 50 innocent people murdered ~ men, women and children all due to one mans hatred of Islam and the Muslim religion … he planned and chose to eliminate as many people as he could in their place of...
It’s different when its live …
There is something cathartic about live music … the senses are awakened in a way not easily replicated, your ears pick up an authenticity in the sound of the performance, albeit sometimes intermingled with the out of tune warbling of those beside you in the crowd. Your eyes feast on the stage, big screens and other concert goers, watching the wild thrashing in the mosh pit or those being dragged off by medics for perhaps overdoing it in some way. Your nose picks up wafts of body odour … merging with...
Dear Dad
Dear Dad 3 years today dad … since you passed away. I miss you. 3 years since your body let you down and decided it wasn’t going to play ball anymore, that it would allow pneumonia and some sort of dis-ease to take you to the other side. I miss you. This week has been weird. I’ve felt in a different space ~ physically as well as emotionally and mentally. I cried at work yesterday morning when I spoke about you, remembering you and the fact we are commemorating 3 years of your death today …...
Lamb Chop & Kebab – My 20 year anniversary of surviving Necrotising Fasciitis
August is a special month for me. My son’s birthday is August 21st. My dad passed away on August 30th. Both significant events ~ on any scale. There is another date … that is just as significant … in some ways. That would be the 19th of August … or the 18th if you are in the northern hemisphere, which is where I was when this date became … “significant”. London, August 1998 … 18 months into my overseas experience or “OE” to use a New Zealand colloquialism. I...
“Here’s to you … guys …”
I’m lucky to have some good guys in my life. I have good brothers. I have good male friends. My dad was a real good man … I have (and have previously had) good male work colleagues. I don’t have a good partner (or a bad one!) currently which is totally OK most of the time … until my boy hurts. Being a single parent is no walk in the park, and I don’t get ‘every second weekend off’ or have a ‘week about’ arrangement with the kids dad … he lives...
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The Black Dog Parade
A few weeks back an old friend posted a status update on her Facebook page noting this wasn’t going to be a happy, joyful or upbeat post and acknowledging she was feeling ‘blah’. She made a public call out to her friends and family for hugs and the offer of a chat, for anyone who may...
A year of firsts
A year of firsts A year ago today I kissed my dad for the last time and said goodbye. Today is the last of the “firsts” that we as a family, have had to work our way through in the year since his death. We had our first Fathers’ day only a week after he passed away, we’ve been...
Winter is here … ...
It’s winter here in New Zealand. Happens every year. Winter that is. However you would think by the shocked, horror filled expressions of the general population in Tauranga at the moment that our current season is more akin to a zombie apocalypse. It was 1...
A trip down memory lane
Memories are funny things don’t you think? Not always funny in a “ha ha” way … but funny “strange” sometimes. And Memories can both haunt … and comfort us. I am fascinated with what sparks a memory, at any time of the day or night and often when you least expect it. Maybe it’s a smell...
It’s not OK
It’s not ok. It’s never ok. I started a blog last week. My first two paragraphs: I have just read yet another news article about a 24 year old mum of one, found dead in her home with her 5 year old daughter asleep in the next room, presumably (and hopefully) unaware of the terror and...
A New Normal
Nothing can prepare you for the death of a parent. We all know it is going to happen ~ some day, but you don’t tend to dwell on how that might feel, what that empty space will actually feel like. Well I didn’t anyway. My Dad passed away on August 30th. Feels weird writing that to be...
A Celebration of Friend...
I have a recollection from when I was about 24 years old … my mother made a comment that she had been friends with her bridesmaid for over 30 years. At that time I remember thinking “oh my god – imagine that, that’s FOREVER” … Fast forward 20 years and I have recently returned from a...
