Time moves quickly

I did not write this – but it resonates with me. The urgency to do things that matter now, so hard when external factors control some of those outcomes… trying to buy a house, trying to get my parents here with me. No time to wait, but no choice to do so 😔, and the fear that time will run out.

Barely the day started and… it’s already six in the evening.
Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday.
… and the month is already over.
… and the year is almost over.
… and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed.
… and we realize that we lost our parents, friends.
and we realize it’s too late to go back…
So… Let’s try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time…
Let’s keep looking for activities that we like…
Let’s put some color in our grey…
Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.
And despite everything, we must continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. Let’s try to eliminate the afters…
I’m doing it after…
I’ll say after…
I’ll think about it after…
We leave everything for later like ′′ after ′′ is ours.
Because what we don’t understand is that:
Afterwards, the coffee gets cold…
afterwards, priorities change…
Afterwards, the charm is broken…
afterwards, health passes…
Afterwards, the kids grow up…
Afterwards parents get old…
Afterwards, promises are forgotten…
afterwards, the day becomes the night…
afterwards life ends…
And then it’s often too late….
So… Let’s leave nothing for later…
Because still waiting see you later, we can lose the best moments,
the best experiences,
best friends,
the best family…
The day is today… The moment is now…

We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone what needs to be done right away.
So let’s see if you have time to read this message and then share it.
Or maybe you’ll leave it for… ′′ later “…
And you’ll never share it….

10 Things You learn when living in Auckland

So it’s been a couple of months since we arrived in Auckland. Generally things are pretty much the same as back home. BUT and it’s a big but..there are moments when you find yourself feeling like an idiot… So some things we have learned whilst living in Auckland..

1. ‘cutting the cheese’ means farting

2. When you asked what you must do with your bosses slips… (till slips), rather use the word receipts as a slip is underwear,  and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be doing anything with your boss’s underwear

3. When your boss sends out an email saying you can’t wear singlets to work…do not google ‘singlet’! A singlet is not the image of the guy that pops up wearing a uni-underwear thing, it’s a sleeveless gym shirt

4. Don’t use the words ‘you have to’, not even in a friendly..you have to turn off the tap..kind of way. People are super friendly here but they don’t like being told ‘ you have to’

5. Cheers… Yeah..tough one, it doesn’t mean goodbye and it is not toasting to a drink.. It means ‘thanks’.  I kept thinking people really say goodbye a lot even though they are not leaving,  until I realised it meant thanks.

6. Ice block… Weird but it refers to ice cream lollies.. So if someone offers you an ice block, you can say yes, it’s not ice blocks for your drink.

7. Toggs, refers to your swimming costume and not your rugby or hockey toggs.

8. Dairy, the little cafe around the corner and not the place the cows get milked..weird hey

9. Jandals… We have been told it is Japanese sandles.. To put it simply.. Flipflops!

10. Dear… This one is quite strange.. It means more expensive. So something is dearer..

Sigh, in our moments of feeling completely flabergasted by our obvious ignorance there is just nothing that can fix our obvious lack of kiwi knowledge.  Sometimes I feel people look at us and think we are joking or as Kiwi’s put it “taking the piss” but we honestly just don’t know.

This is a definitive learning curve in so many ways, getting used to the way people say things when you have said them a different way for almost 40 years.

Hopefully we can add to the list and be up to speed soon enough to at least fake that we aren’t complete idiots lol.

Miss you puppy…

Sleep has always been a challenge for me… I just have not gotten the whole “shut down and go to bed” thing down. It could just be due to a combination of over tiredness, the stress of my baby not arriving when I want her to or the bad blow up bed we are stuck with for the moment.

I just so miss my doggy.. I know, I know…just a dog. But she is so much more. I have such a desperate need to squish her face and feel her fluffiness against me.  Sigh, immigration is already so challenging and expensive, bringing pets over is ridiculously expensive.

My boss just got a new puppy, feeling very fragile I avoided all puppy talk and when everyone got excited I made a quick exit. It’s just so difficult when you miss a pet sooo very much, especially when they are like your baby.

Soo wish Lily could be here, sneaking onto the bed so that I can cuddle and feel her softness and unconditional love.

It is what it is..

The thing about silence is it makes you think.. It serves as time to reflect. When nothing can deafen out any other sounds….these are the moments I struggle with most.  The moment where I find myself looking at photos of family like a psycho stalker..taking in the detail, desperately trying to not miss everyone so much.

I would give anything to hug my dad, to feel his beard scratch my face, to hear the distortion of his hearing aid against my ear when he hugs me 😢… And smell my mom and feel her all soft and warm in an embrace.

The list is just endless. Finding yourself in an absolutely beautiful place does not replace another beautiful place… I so miss home and work. My friends at work are all pregnant, I hate that I will miss that. My baby sister is getting married in the New year and it breaks my hart that I will miss it.

Starting a new life is challenging..  A word I have been using so often. Our kids are just so amazing and loving their new found freedom and safety.

I just miss my family and friends, my boozy book club, my beautiful house and my dearest Lily.

People judge so quickly when they hear you are taking your pet with you to wherever it is you are going,  but all I want to do is squish her face and rub my hands through her hair.

Sigh, it has been so challenging. People keep asking how you are doing and the generic response applies..”great thanks”…but all you want to do is stay in bed and mourne the people you miss so much.

Seeing as I can not have my family,  all I want is my dog..and enough money for unbelievably large quantities of wine and at the moment I have neither and prospects are just not looking on the up and up to have either any time soon.

Is that just too much to ask for?

New Sunsets and Full moons

We were sitting on our balcony staring at another absolutely amazing moon. For some unexplained reason the sunsets and rising full moons have been breathtakingly stunning lately.

We have had some lovely weather of late.. well according to us anyway. Some people think it is too humid, others don’t like the bits of rain, but we have enjoyed it.

Life is just so busy lately.  Our days start so late, but end just as late and by the time we have had dinner it is almost bed time for the girls.  We do however get chance to just sit and have a glass of wine and take in the silence surrounding us when the sun sets and the moon rises.  It is just so quiet where we stay, something we are definitely not used to.

Evenings you are lulled of to bed by silence and early morning you are woken by all the different sounds of birds that sound as if all they do is work hard at creating their amazing symphony of harmonic notes.

Weekends still seem like a blind rush with no rest, but with kids there are just always something that has to be done, something last minute needed 🙂

All in all it’s kinda nice.. definitely does not replace home in any which way or form, but it’s nice.