A Little Older

At the end of last week I got a little older.  It was a quiet sort of day, spent moseying around the library in the morning, chatting to my mother and sister in NZ online in the afternoon and then going out for a coffee with Kazuo.  Unfortunately, he slept through the early dinner time I had planned to spend at one of our local pizza restaurants, so we had takeaway Chinese at home instead – anything so Mama would not have to cook!  It was actually much more relaxing as we could just potter about at our own speed.  We are yet to secure the services of a babysitter, so date nights are usually in at our house anyway.

But the next day was a weekend morning and we began with a birthday Gooey Butter Cake tea party for three (Dada had to be on camera duty):

I learned to figure skate as a child, and since it is both mid-winter and Winter Olympics season, and since I have been off such activities for a year or so due to pregnancy et al, I was dying to get back on the ice while the local rink was still open.  The forecast was for snow on the night of my birthday, so I was anticipating a gorgeous snowy landscape in Forest Park.  Instead, it was a shockingly wonderful 15degC outside and we could shed some layers and really enjoy being outdoors.  Although several friends joined us for the afternoon, my ice rink companions were the lovely Laura and Julia:

Here we are gliding about – it was a short trip, but so so wonderful!   (We were also joined by our friend Dave on the ice, but somehow he managed to dodge the photos.)

The big treat of the weekend was my thoughtful, and oh-so-much-more-tech-savvy husband securing Not Working it’s very own domain.  So here we are at our new home, I hope you didn’t have any trouble tracking me down!  I was also lucky enough to receive some delights in the post, here are a little sample – the button brooch from friends in the UK, the Manuka Honey hand cream and bath salts and the little fridge magnets from NZ.  They have all been a hit with Kazuo too and I am feeling very grateful for everyone’s kindness.

I am feeling a little older this year, perhaps something to do with perpetual tiredy-ness, and perhaps something to do with coming slowly to the end of another marvellous decade.  I am not sure I feel my age yet though – I seem to be coming to most of life’s major milestones and responsibilities rather later than some and maybe that is keeping the feeling at bay.  In any case, although I felt somewhat less inclined to make an ‘event’ out of this birthday, it was still a lovely weekend of feeling appreciation for the daily miracle of being alive and having connections with people I love dearly. Today those thoughts are somewhat tempered by the memory of the passing of my beloved father in 2007 – but deepest gratitude goes out to all of you who are still actively a part of my life, whether near or far…

He aha te mea nui o te ao?

He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata

What is the most important thing in the world?

It is people, it is people, it is people.