Letter to Students 16 February 2009Dear Reader It is now Monday night, and Han and I are sitting under a duvet watching a movie called Duplex. I had never seen more than one movie every six months, and now I have watched four movies in as many days. Last night, Han was keen to watch a movie and I felt too sleepy, but said I would sit beside him and snuggle up. Han ended up falling asleep, but I became so engrossed in the storyline that I couldn’t stop watching it. Have you seen the movie called Keeping the Faith? I really loved the essence of the movie, and I couldn’t sleep for three hours after watching it as my mind relived many of the scenes. What did you do this past weekend? Our weekend began with a wonderful celebration of our school’s eighth birthday with staff and those others who have supported the school over the years. I had awoken early on Friday morning to make bread and pizzas before going to work, and loaded all the food into the car. I love planning for parties, and I always know that all the hard work is worth it when I see the smiling faces of our friends. It seems a random question but do you believe in fairies? On the way into town on Saturday morning, while I was taking Jan in to his dishwashing job at our daughter’s restaurant, we talked about whether fairies existed and how wonderful it would be if they did. That would mean that all the boring chores would be done with me not having to lift a finger, but Jan said that he thought we were the only fairies around that morning as we both headed off to do the cleaning. After the wonderful night with our dear friends and colleagues on Friday night, we had left all the dishes for the following day and although feeling a little seedy, I was not looking forward to doing the pile of dishes and rearranging the furniture on my own. However, on entering the kitchen I noticed that all the dishes had been done, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wanted to hug whoever the fairy was, and I had a fair idea who had done it! Sure enough, when I rang Amber, she told me that she and her husband, Ben, had stayed behind and cleaned up after us. She is more than a fairy; she is an angel!! Not having to spend the morning cleaning, I was free to have a look around Thieves’ Alley, the market day held once a year in the Octagon. I spied a stall manned by a pretty Asian woman who immediately smiled at me when we made eye contact. She recognised me immediately, and then said that we hadn’t met! She is the Vietnamese aunt of one of our students, and I always have had dealings with her Kiwi husband. It was good to finally put a face to the name, and I ended up buying some of her beautiful lacquer ware as presents for family and friends. I love such chance meetings, and you can have them often in Dunedin. Last year, I visited Japan with an elderly Japanese cancer researcher who has lived in Dunedin for nearly nine years. She will retire next month, and return to live in Japan for good. It was wonderful to have the chance to experience Japan with her, and I treasure the memories of that time. We stayed with her brother in Tokyo, and it was important to be able to reciprocate their hospitality. I, therefore, was looking forward to hosting them on Saturday night when they came out to our home for a big barbecue as they are visiting Dunedin for a few days. I invited another Japanese friend who has lived in Dunedin for almost forty years, and her English husband, and two other close friends who have a son with special needs. This young man is now in his mid twenties, and he is infatuated with me. Jan, my fifteen year old son, said how he felt uncomfortable with the way I was looked at by this young man whose brain was addled by a virus at the age of three months, but I felt fine, knowing I was in a safe environment. He only gets attention from his devoted parents, and I think it is important to respect everyone, even those who seem to have been given a rough deal in life. I feel so blessed that all my children were born safely and that they have not been inflicted with any life threatening, or brain damaging illness. Having a child with special needs places a life sentence on parents, and they are never free of their children ever. They are quite remarkable people, and I take my hat off to them. Not only did I encounter one fairy in the weekend, but on Sunday morning we noticed that our bottom lawn had been mown, and both Han and I thought the other had mown it. Both of us had indeed mown one side of the lawn each, but neither of us had had time to do the lawn across the road by the vegetable garden. When we realised that it had to have been our neighbour who had cut the grass, we bought him his favourite Bourbon and coke as an expression of our appreciation. Han said that no one had ever done that for him before and he was totally blown away by the gesture. Our neighbour was similarly delighted when we arrived on his doorstep with his favourite beverage, and we sat out on his deck, under the umbrella, in the sun. The day drifted on from there, with us ending up at our home for a late brunch, and then later sharing dinner. It was the perfect day, having begun with a coffee at our daughter’s café after dropping Jan off at work again. It is the simple things in life which are the sweetest, don’t you think? I will sign off now, and I hope that you are happy and well. Please write back to me and tell me your news. Love SharronBack to Letter Archive Page Within New Zealand call (03) 471 7257 - International call +64 3 471 7257. |
