Mother is a sweet unassuming 86yr old and now lives with me. She used to be a nurse herself, worked until retirement, then went to the sea-side to live. She loves the sea, her Father & brothers came from a line of sea-farers. She has famous ancesters, first whalers & great chieftans who met & intermarried when NZ was being discovered. This was before European colonization & westernization. She is of Te Atiawa, English & Irish origins. Some of her Tipuna were famous carvers & their works remain to this day.
Getting back to Mother. . . she grew up by the sea...Island Bay, Wellington in fact. Mother also once owned her own fishing boat, with her companion Bob. They brought the boat up from Wellington to Gisborne years ago, through the worst storm imaginable. Mother said her & Bob were able to find some shelter along the East Coast, but she was so afraid of the huge swell & towering waves that she cryed out to God to save them & has faith that He heard her since.
Mother has fine features, big brown eyes, olive skin that shows her Maori ancestry and a strong will. She is caring and kindly, looking for the good in everyone and does have a tendency to worry. Mother spent her child-hood as her own mother's right-hand cook & care-giver to her three siblings, being the eldest of four. Mother didn't enjoy the chores and child-care responsibilities assigned to her, which had the later effect that caused Mother to avoid her grand-children when young, fearing being caught up in child-care again.
As a teenager, Mother went through WWII. She was the youngest in her battalion, and has many fond memories of her time in the WAACs where Mother made many friends, most have died now. Mother endured the Depression, becoming engaged & married during those years. After Mother's first love & fiancee was killed, Mother said she met and eventually married my father to get away from home. It was against her parent's wishes, but Mother can be stubborn when her mind is made up.
As a teenager, Mother went through WWII. She was the youngest in her battalion, and has many fond memories of her time in the WAACs where Mother made many friends, most have died now. Mother endured the Depression, becoming engaged & married during those years. After Mother's first love & fiancee was killed, Mother said she met and eventually married my father to get away from home. It was against her parent's wishes, but Mother can be stubborn when her mind is made up.
She paid for it though. Six kids later & 25 years of misery, Mother decided to do her nursing training so she could support herself. That was when she met Bob, an old friend of her brother's. Bob gave mother the courage to leave Father, who was obsessive-compulsive & very controlling. Bob was drowned years later in a fishing boat accident.
Mother carried on with her nursing and then care-giving after retiring from nursing at 65yrs old. She remained single even though there were offers of marriage. Mother moved to a RSA retirement village and loved it there. She was very social and hospitable. Mother also remained friends with Father, whom she said felt more like a relative/brother. He had remarried twice and is now no longer alive. Unlike me, Mother is an extrovert & loves being around people. She follows the lives of people she meets with avid interest. Mother lives very much in the present, moving from moment to moment.
Mother carried on with her nursing and then care-giving after retiring from nursing at 65yrs old. She remained single even though there were offers of marriage. Mother moved to a RSA retirement village and loved it there. She was very social and hospitable. Mother also remained friends with Father, whom she said felt more like a relative/brother. He had remarried twice and is now no longer alive. Unlike me, Mother is an extrovert & loves being around people. She follows the lives of people she meets with avid interest. Mother lives very much in the present, moving from moment to moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment