Rain, games & goodbyes.......

Sadly, not all our days were glorious, blue, sunny affairs.....some were downright miserable .....with temperatures the same as the UK were recording in their winter......10 and 13C....it was supposed to be summer......temperatures should have been in the mid twenties......every day .....but some days, the cloud was so low we couldn't see the top of the surrounding hills......

Low Clouds on the Hills of Whitemans Valley

and rain......some days there was more than enough rain to refill all the water tanks that we were fast using up....7 people to wash clothes for, to shower, to use the toilet.....we sure got through the water quickly......most people in NZ live in towns and cities where they are on mains water supply......however, for the minority who choose a more rural life.....they must provide their own water supply.....be that from a bore sunk deep in the ground if they are lucky enough to have an underground spring on their land, a freshwater spring, or from rain collected in vast water tanks......a particularly long and dry summer can be a source of immense concern and difficulty if water supplies run low........but thankfully there was plenty of rain to avert a water crisis for us.......

Looking towards the hills from Big Lad's Room

Most evenings after Little Lad and Little Miss had gone to bed, us big uns had a cuppa, a piece of yummy cake or scrummy cookies and played a game......monopoly, poker, boat races, squatter ......and something so simple, yet so hilarious.....a real good party game.....you start off with an empty open cereal box placed on the floor, and everyone takes a turn to pick the box up using only their mouth.....no hands or feet to be used....and no hands can touch the ground.... then a small strip is carefully ripped off, or cut from all around the top of the box, thus making the box slightly smaller.....everyone takes a turn to pick up the box again.......if you collapse on the floor, or use your hands and/or feet to assist you in any way, you're out ......and so it goes on.....with the box getting a little smaller each time.....the winner obviously being the last one to pick up the smallest bit of box......it didn't take too long for us older ones to realise our limitations and back out gracefully before we either embarrassed ourselves dreadfully or worse, got stuck, or did ourselves a mischief.....but for Big Lad and Big Miss, the game was on.....neither one of them wishing to let the other win ......with both being incredibly flexible.....and being arch rivals......this was going to be a hard won competition......Grandpa, Grandma G and myself could not believe it possible as the box got whittled down to just a flat piece of card......surely they would not be able to get this off the floor with only their mouth.......

Big Miss picking up last piece of flat card

but get it off the floor, they did......both of them......we had to declare it a tie.....well done to both of them.....and strangely, they both used totally different techniques.....Big Miss used a box split technique, as shown above.....while Big Lad used a front lunge technique .....oh to be that flexible again.....hehehe

Big Lad using a front lunge to pick up cereal box

The evenings spent in this fun and gamely fashion were such a joy.....so pleasurable to spend time and enjoy just being together.....we had laughs.....we had competition.......we had tricksters......we had jokes......we had puzzles.....we simply had good old fashioned fun .......and boy, was it brilliant!

With our time in Wellington drawing to a close, I felt the need to squeeze in a very important little outing for myself and my Angels.....a visit to my most wonderful Nana and Pop's grave ....I have such lovely, happy memories of time spent with Nana and Pop during my childhood .....and I just wish my Angels could've met them......well, Big Lad did meet Nana.....but he was only six months old, and she was quite lost in her own little world of dementia......Nana and Pop were both so kind, loving and caring......I would love for my Angels to have just such a relationship with Grandpa and Grandma G as I had with my Nana and Pop.......well they have ......but the distance between our homes does make it incredibly difficult. Anyways, I had not been to their grave, although I had been lucky enough to attend both their funerals.....so on a damp, drizzly day, with the Angels loaded into the car, I drove to the cemetery on Akatarawa Road in search of their grave......once we'd found it, I placed some flowers I'd bought on the way, introduced my Angels, and talked openly to Nana and Pop while the Angels listened......and Little Miss asked lots of questions......it was a sad little space in time.....I was thankful for the rain that was streaming down my face.......mingling perfectly with my tears, hopeful that my Angels wouldn't notice.....but they were not fooled.......they were in fact, quiet and really quite reverent while they listened to my ramblings, holding my hand or putting their arms around me to comfort me......they were just the sweetest things.

I kicked myself when I got home and realised that, in my emotional state......both filled with sadness and bursting with pride.....I had forgotten to take a photo to keep with me, of their grave......I consoled myself by taking a photo of a photo which is hanging on Grandma G's "wall of fame"......a photo of Nana and Pop on their wedding day.......

Nana & Pop

They both look so handsome, don't you think? I took the time to show my Angels this photo ......and a much more recent one before they died.......when we returned from the grave......so they had some idea of who I had been rambling away to.....to help them piece it all together ......I hope it gave them a little understanding.

After the cemetery, I drove the Angels further up the Akatarawa Road......another long and narrow and twisting road.......to show them where I lived during my teenage years...... throughout our time in NZ we had attempted to show my Angels little glimpses of what, and where my life had been before they came into it to share it with me......to hopefully give them little clues to how and why, I am who I am......and the Akatarawas was another little piece of the puzzle......I really hope it has helped my Angels to get to know me better, despite knowing me all their lives.

Then it was time for packing, packing, packing......we weren't leaving NZ just yet.....but it was time to leave Wellington.....I at least, was thankful that the weather was not at it's best......I would have deeply resented spending time packing......and such a lot of packing was to be done.....if the sun had been shining and begging to be enjoyed.

And so it was, that after a couple of weeks we said goodbye to our home from home.....Grandpa and Grandma G's house......

Grandpa & Grandma G's House

and embarked on a real road trip.

We'd all like to say a H U G E thank you to Grandpa and Grandma G for sharing their home with us.....it was S U P E R B ! ! ! .........we all appreciated the effort you made to give each of us our own space......all the rooms and spaces worked brilliantly for us all .......and the little touches......like photos of ourselves in our rooms......to make us smile, feel loved, and feel at home.

-xx-