So the election ran last night and the results are quite frankly mind-blowing. No surprises really with National getting 48 percent of the party vote. But the lack of strategic thinking from the Labour and Greens voters in Epsom allowing John Banks through was hard to stomach. Peter Dunne!! Winston!! Aue. Watching the party vote for Maori and Mana was also hard to watch. What have we done? It was humbling I'm sure for the Leaders of both Maori and Mana parties, and there will need to be some very serious thinking if we are to regroup, regather, and regain some real strength at the next elections. I was pretty gutted at the lack of sentiment from Annette Sykes, in conceding the Waiariki seat to Te Ururoa (though the "sell-out" message I agreed with). Equally though, Te Ururoa did not hold anything back in claiming his victory. Basic tikanga missing from that equation I think, something that I thought I heard Pita hint at last night as the driver for the Maori Party going forward.
I am seriously concerned for all my whanau for the next three years. John Key outlined his priorities and we can expect some real hard hitting welfare reforms by Monday (thats is an exaggeration). I just feel like weeping because to hear John Key and John Banks conceive of poverty and welfarism as a shameful blight on the Nations coffers and not as an impact on tamariki, pepi is heart breaking. 220,000 children living in poverty (fact) becomes 220,000 people on welfare (John Key turn around). Reform welfare, solve poverty? No John, no. Our assets are a signature away from being sold (another exaggeration). Choice, now I wont be able to afford the rates I currently pay for power AND the ability to have some say in that anyway will be stripped. And the discourse around cuts to the public sector, though tenth in the priority list, is something that will affect me too. I have just spent three days in a planning meeting with State Sector Union reps from around New Zealand, and the reality of what we face as a Union whanau in the next three years was pretty palpable. I will have to have the fortitude of an ox and its herd to get throught the cuts we know are coming, and the thousands of members it will affect. Our strategies will be many, our hearts will be big, the mountain not completely unassailable I hope. Policies derived from a National, United and ACT line-up for my whanau will only be bad news.
I didn't want to come on here and blabber on about politics, and the piece is written from my heart and not from any evidential or factual reading of anything, so if you wanted to pick at the facts I haven't got right well go on, make your day. On a personal front, I have decided that I need to be a part of the Maori Party, not as a candidate (lol hell no!), but I need to find some way to contribute to growing the the strength I believe is still there. I have chosen this party as best able to represent my whanau needs in the years to come. Just know I feel incredibly sad today, and feeling much love for Aotearoa and our people.
*Once again, I wrote from the heart, didn't consult anybody and have no idea to the real truth of any fact that might be in this post.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
The Basics.
Waxing lyrical about all the big plans I have for my new-look whanau count for nothing if you don't get the basics right. I know I have spoken of rules, and routines are almost as important. I have been pretty exhausted in the past few days so routines and home cooked dinners were out the window (thank goodness cereal is so nutritious and the kids love it!). It doesn't take much for disorder to reign and chaos to take over. I have a pretty stressful job and there is no time really to de-zone my work head and get into Mum-space. I have to hit the ground running when I get home to maximise the 3-4 hours contact time with my kids at the end of a work day. Ideally that is, but lately I have just been hitting the ground.
My kids are pretty normal kids, like most of the nations children. Angelic, no-ears (or partially working ones), big-mouths, ego-centric pains in the butt, and their individual needs are paramount and demand my attention as soon as I get home. I barely make it through the door - of the car that is, and my five year old launches himself at me like I have been away for months, the younger girls are all smiley faced and clutching for free hands to hold or checking for treats, the oldest boy complains I forgot something and the eldest bless her cotton-socks just rolls her "oh yay Mum's back haha not" eyes at me. Kura pānui, homework books, new schoolground scrapes, lost property inventories, food shopping lists, personal shopping lists, staying at friends' houses requests, friends staying at our house requests, the always innovative new ways to get more money from me requests (x5)...all that plus so much more is shoved at me while I walk from the car to the house. Once I'm in the house the "what's for dinner Mum" chorus begins. I think the time between turning the car into the driveway and turning the car off is my new 'Mum time'.
But seriously, that routine business is Gold. I need a Mum-planner from hell and whoever can nail that sh*t and bundle it into an app for Android phones (yes, Android, iPhone schmiPhone!!) will make mega-bucks. I have read all the books, of course. And I have tried all sorts of routines and strategies with varying success. The sticker reward chart. The umm. Okay, I've only tried one. But I did try that various ways! Routines are more than just providing sanity for me, it gives kids structure, provides rules, is hopefully underpinned by whanau values, and teaches responsibility and consequences for actions and behaviours. But it takes up soo much time. Being a solo Mum and time do not exist on the same plane.
There is a sense of what everybody needs to do already - we all have jobs, and heavens I have enough kids for them to be able to share the workload. And there is a routine of sorts - I yell till everything is done. And I do that consistently. But I am woeful in handing out consequences when things are not done. Bellowing at kids is not giving them consequences, and they soone enough learn to ignore that. But routines are not just about working around the home. There is the bath, book, karakia routine that I used religiously (pardon the pun) for the first year after the split. It was something their father and I shared in our former lives, and something I clung to for the kids to provide consistency and a sense of stability in that first year as a new whanau. It was a great way to reconnect with my kids at the end of each day, and I found I needed it as much as they did. I could monitor and gauge emotions, check well-being at Kura, and listen to their little voices. Strangely that has dropped off our daily routine, I guess the kids are stronger and more settled, and maybe I am too.
These days I talk to my kids as much as I can, make mental notes about where I think they are on a scale of sad to happy, help with the big homework stuff and delegate the little things to the older kids. I give heaps of kisses and cuddles, and try and laugh as much as I can with them. The basics. The housework stuff - thats a work in progress.
My kids are pretty normal kids, like most of the nations children. Angelic, no-ears (or partially working ones), big-mouths, ego-centric pains in the butt, and their individual needs are paramount and demand my attention as soon as I get home. I barely make it through the door - of the car that is, and my five year old launches himself at me like I have been away for months, the younger girls are all smiley faced and clutching for free hands to hold or checking for treats, the oldest boy complains I forgot something and the eldest bless her cotton-socks just rolls her "oh yay Mum's back haha not" eyes at me. Kura pānui, homework books, new schoolground scrapes, lost property inventories, food shopping lists, personal shopping lists, staying at friends' houses requests, friends staying at our house requests, the always innovative new ways to get more money from me requests (x5)...all that plus so much more is shoved at me while I walk from the car to the house. Once I'm in the house the "what's for dinner Mum" chorus begins. I think the time between turning the car into the driveway and turning the car off is my new 'Mum time'.
But seriously, that routine business is Gold. I need a Mum-planner from hell and whoever can nail that sh*t and bundle it into an app for Android phones (yes, Android, iPhone schmiPhone!!) will make mega-bucks. I have read all the books, of course. And I have tried all sorts of routines and strategies with varying success. The sticker reward chart. The umm. Okay, I've only tried one. But I did try that various ways! Routines are more than just providing sanity for me, it gives kids structure, provides rules, is hopefully underpinned by whanau values, and teaches responsibility and consequences for actions and behaviours. But it takes up soo much time. Being a solo Mum and time do not exist on the same plane.
There is a sense of what everybody needs to do already - we all have jobs, and heavens I have enough kids for them to be able to share the workload. And there is a routine of sorts - I yell till everything is done. And I do that consistently. But I am woeful in handing out consequences when things are not done. Bellowing at kids is not giving them consequences, and they soone enough learn to ignore that. But routines are not just about working around the home. There is the bath, book, karakia routine that I used religiously (pardon the pun) for the first year after the split. It was something their father and I shared in our former lives, and something I clung to for the kids to provide consistency and a sense of stability in that first year as a new whanau. It was a great way to reconnect with my kids at the end of each day, and I found I needed it as much as they did. I could monitor and gauge emotions, check well-being at Kura, and listen to their little voices. Strangely that has dropped off our daily routine, I guess the kids are stronger and more settled, and maybe I am too.
These days I talk to my kids as much as I can, make mental notes about where I think they are on a scale of sad to happy, help with the big homework stuff and delegate the little things to the older kids. I give heaps of kisses and cuddles, and try and laugh as much as I can with them. The basics. The housework stuff - thats a work in progress.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Snap.
The full realisation of some dreams not reaching fruition the way I had imagined is starting to hit. And for me it means I have to be the ‘Māori Mum’. You know, the tūturu, hoki ki te kāinga (as in tūrangawaeawae) kōrero Māori i ngā wā katoa Mum. I have to be that Mum. I have skated along on my urban Māori status for most of my life and left all responsibility for Māorifying my kids up to their Pāpā. We shared the vision, I just hadn’t bothered taking an active part in fulfilling it. I didn't need to, the ex was happy to, and I let him.
So I have quite frankly been a cabbage when it comes to passing on te reo Māori me ōna tikanga to my kids. Of course that would assume I have it to pass on! I mean I did te reo at varsity, started Ranginui’s (wonder who does that now?) “Intro to Māori Society” paper...twice. Never finished it, I withdrew from the paper both times. Bored me. My thing was Māori Ed, still is. But now that Mr Māori Studies has departed and left the raising of the children to me its well, like a blank canvas! Not in terms of my kids mind you, in terms of my ownself. I am going to have to be the passer-onner of the Māori stuff. Where do you start with that?
I shouldn't be so flippant. I do have a strong sense of my whakapapa, at least the Northern part of my whakapapa. My grandmother was very Te Aupōuri and very Te Rārawa. And my grandfather (whom I never knew) was very Ngāti Kahu. I'm worried though that it is a superficial sense. My lived reality was as a Māori urbanite, and, as it so often happened with urban Māori, my Nana’s homestead on Hunua Road, Papakura became our ‘Marae’. The whole urban thing I know is a valid form of expression of Māoritanga, and forms a solid part of my identity. I’ll pass that onto my kids too. And there is my Waikato side. That is a journey I have long needed to undertake, and with some urgency now. He piko he taniwha.
There is so much more. I want the full picture for them, the 'Māori world view'. I think the Kura they attend does a fabulous job of growing that. My 7 year old daughter was at the beach with me the other day and we were getting pipis. We weren’t having much luck and she suddenly remembers the karakia her kaiako had taught her class for Tangaroa. Karakia mai, I said and she gave her karakia. Of course not long after her karakia we hit a really good pipi bed and gathered enough for a kai, reinforcing her understanding of the importance of karakia. The connections she made between karakia, the domain of Tangaroa, gathering kai, and the ‘rightness’ of doing it in this way is just special. That is Kaupapa Māori Education right there.
So some personal plans. Definitely improve my reo, the kids are way past the Kohanga level of reo that I practise. My understanding sits higher than that, but I lack the confidence to talk. I am changing that! No more Shane Jones kōrero under the influence of alcohol for me. Gunna own it! And the history and whakapapa? Gunna own that too. You heard it here first. Or read. So yep, my life becomes fuller and I grow my ideas all the time and my job description gets yet another layer. Full-time Mum, full-time Analyst, full-time tradition establisher and now full-time Māori world view developer. What? Is that all you got universe?
*You'll have to email me for translations of any Māori above, or Google it. Love you Google :-)
Monday, 14 November 2011
It's moments like these...
Will turn this into a page sometime, somewhere! All the moments that are simple and make life great :)
#1 Waiting for Miss seven to finish her karakia before getting pipis from Tangaroa.
#1 Waiting for Miss seven to finish her karakia before getting pipis from Tangaroa.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
The End of Year School Trip
One thing I have come to rely on quite heavily while raising my whanau on my own is the whole notion of Tuakana-teina (older - younger). I learnt this term as a fresh-faced Uni student studying Māori Education and understand it to form quite an important part of the philosophy that underpins Kohanga and Kura. It just seems both natural and logical that the older you get, the more is expected of you, especially in relation to younger siblings. So yes, I rely heavily on my older kids to pull a fair bit of weight around the home.
It is actually quite a beneficial relationship (should check that with the kids really shouldn't I) from my observations. The youngest 'Princess' of the family naturally gravitates toward her big sister for cuddles, homework help, hair straightening, etc when her Mother is too busy. And if she gets a growling from Mum, she will seek solace from her big sister too. I feel totally ganged up on when the two of them shoot dagger eyes at me. And of course my 5 year old baby boy turns to any of the other four for all of the above too (yes, even the hair straightening). He never goes to the same sibling twice, he likes to share the love. He does have a special relationship with his tough 10 year old sister. Those two are tight. I expect the older kids to help look after the younger kids. Tuakana-teina really is a simple, built-in, enduring, ages-old whanau support system that I highly recommend. And its free!
It does come with its problems though. You can set the system up, borning the kids and all, and you can set it to run at given times, but you have to programme it with care. See if you dont lay down the tikanga (rules) just right, you'll get dramas! Tuakana-teina must be understood by all whanau members as a relationship that is intended to nurture and guide. Bahahahaha! For the first five minutes maybe!! My kids will turn on each other faster than a speeding bullet. "Haere ki te mahi!" - "Nah! You aint the boss of me!". Bloody hell. That must be an eternal sibling statement that one! The system is reliant on sound rationale and firm expectations. And I suppose I really should articulate that to the kids. And once I know what that looks like - I probably will! But for now we're winging it and the Tuakana-teina system at the moment is nothing more than a reactive system, an emergency response system for when I literally have my hands full. I am wanting to grow its functions but until I can spend time getting the underpinning processes and procedures sussed, it continues to be a last resort back-up.
And the point of all this waffle? The kids are off on their end of year school trip and they're all pretty excited. I was keen to join them and I had originally intended to go as Parent-help, but I have another commitment and so I am staying back now. The dilemma? Mr 5 - thats him in the profile pic. I wont let him go on the trip. He is the product of an over-worked guilty mother, and the potiki (youngest child) to boot. If he wants something, and it will bring me peace, I am ashamed to say he gets it. I have created a behavioural monster. I thought I should let him go, and trust in the Tuakana-teina system to look out for him. But that wouldn't be fair to his Tuakana or to my baby. That is a huge responsibility for all four of my kids to watch the baby for 8 days. And they need time to just be kids, chill and hang with their friends after a productive year at school. I know there'll be teachers and other adults that would be able to help them etc. But his delightful mannerisms - anger outbursts, giving the one-finger salute, and hurling missiles, which look so cute at home, and so wrong in public need constant management at the moment. And he has a foul mouth - I swear its not from me (pardon the pun)! The school trip is not the time or place to run the Tuakana-teina system. It requires Mum.
So, the kids will head south on their well-earned school trip and I will be home alone with a 5 year old who totally has my number - and who doesn't know yet that he is not going on the trip. Pray for me.
It is actually quite a beneficial relationship (should check that with the kids really shouldn't I) from my observations. The youngest 'Princess' of the family naturally gravitates toward her big sister for cuddles, homework help, hair straightening, etc when her Mother is too busy. And if she gets a growling from Mum, she will seek solace from her big sister too. I feel totally ganged up on when the two of them shoot dagger eyes at me. And of course my 5 year old baby boy turns to any of the other four for all of the above too (yes, even the hair straightening). He never goes to the same sibling twice, he likes to share the love. He does have a special relationship with his tough 10 year old sister. Those two are tight. I expect the older kids to help look after the younger kids. Tuakana-teina really is a simple, built-in, enduring, ages-old whanau support system that I highly recommend. And its free!
It does come with its problems though. You can set the system up, borning the kids and all, and you can set it to run at given times, but you have to programme it with care. See if you dont lay down the tikanga (rules) just right, you'll get dramas! Tuakana-teina must be understood by all whanau members as a relationship that is intended to nurture and guide. Bahahahaha! For the first five minutes maybe!! My kids will turn on each other faster than a speeding bullet. "Haere ki te mahi!" - "Nah! You aint the boss of me!". Bloody hell. That must be an eternal sibling statement that one! The system is reliant on sound rationale and firm expectations. And I suppose I really should articulate that to the kids. And once I know what that looks like - I probably will! But for now we're winging it and the Tuakana-teina system at the moment is nothing more than a reactive system, an emergency response system for when I literally have my hands full. I am wanting to grow its functions but until I can spend time getting the underpinning processes and procedures sussed, it continues to be a last resort back-up.
And the point of all this waffle? The kids are off on their end of year school trip and they're all pretty excited. I was keen to join them and I had originally intended to go as Parent-help, but I have another commitment and so I am staying back now. The dilemma? Mr 5 - thats him in the profile pic. I wont let him go on the trip. He is the product of an over-worked guilty mother, and the potiki (youngest child) to boot. If he wants something, and it will bring me peace, I am ashamed to say he gets it. I have created a behavioural monster. I thought I should let him go, and trust in the Tuakana-teina system to look out for him. But that wouldn't be fair to his Tuakana or to my baby. That is a huge responsibility for all four of my kids to watch the baby for 8 days. And they need time to just be kids, chill and hang with their friends after a productive year at school. I know there'll be teachers and other adults that would be able to help them etc. But his delightful mannerisms - anger outbursts, giving the one-finger salute, and hurling missiles, which look so cute at home, and so wrong in public need constant management at the moment. And he has a foul mouth - I swear its not from me (pardon the pun)! The school trip is not the time or place to run the Tuakana-teina system. It requires Mum.
So, the kids will head south on their well-earned school trip and I will be home alone with a 5 year old who totally has my number - and who doesn't know yet that he is not going on the trip. Pray for me.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Tradition
Traipsed into Wellies on Saturday night to watch a few thousand dollars worth of Fireworks for the Guy Fawkes celebrations. Significant for a few reasons. The least or most (depending on your own outlook) was my birthday haha. Happy birthday to me! Driving and parking for me is pretty damn significant too. But the main reason? To start establishing some 'traditions'. Birthdays, Christmas, School Holidays, traditions, memories. Laying in more of our whanau foundations. I want my kids to look back on their childhood and reminisce, just like I do now. And I want them to continue the traditions, with their own whanau. I am scared about making new traditions, because it means in some way that I must let go of others. I find it incredibly sad to have to let go of the old, but am excited about exploring the new.
Right, let's just get the driving issue dealt to. I have been a Miss Daisy most of my life and have been pretty much driven everywhere. Exit driver, enter Miss Daisy-Dangerous-Driver. I am pretty much self-taught, with comments and training from whoever has dared to carpool with me lol. There have been some near-misses on those crazy Wellington motorways with me behind the wheel! Thanks to the carpoolers, I now know that my mirrors are functional (not just for make-up), you should look behind when reversing - or should at least look in the direction the car is going, flashing oil lamp lights are serious, and when the thingy goes past H, STOP the car (when the other thingy goes past E - FILL the car). And because of My Miss Daisy status, carparking for me has caused nothing but panic attacks. Parallel parking and me will never be friends. It is an evil, evil thing!! I have a carpark in town so there it was. On Saturday night I DROVE the kids myself and PARKED in the carpark. Well, I did scour the carpark building for a totally vacant floor so that I could reverse in without taking out any other cars (getting some practise) and I got it in three little re-wriggle moves! Yay me :).
And then we were off to the waterfront. My kids don't have the street smarts I reckon I have (being raised in South Aucks). So I was all cautious Mama and pointing out significant landmarks in case we got split up. The lost kid contingency plan? I would text them if I lost them and they would meet me at such and such a spot. Brilliant! Sorted. Didn't even need it, my little pauas stayed close to me, barely ventured more than a metre from my side and were keen to voice "MUM!" at the top of their lungs if I moved from their line of sight haha. Bumpkins all of them!! Plus I held on to them the whole time anyway lol. We had snacks, we had the coolest spot on the waterfront and the kids and I were ready. The fireworks were pretty special :-). I am all about building traditions right now, creating memories building and adding to our whanau foundations. I believe we have got the first one underway. Now, what will we do for Christmas?
Right, let's just get the driving issue dealt to. I have been a Miss Daisy most of my life and have been pretty much driven everywhere. Exit driver, enter Miss Daisy-Dangerous-Driver. I am pretty much self-taught, with comments and training from whoever has dared to carpool with me lol. There have been some near-misses on those crazy Wellington motorways with me behind the wheel! Thanks to the carpoolers, I now know that my mirrors are functional (not just for make-up), you should look behind when reversing - or should at least look in the direction the car is going, flashing oil lamp lights are serious, and when the thingy goes past H, STOP the car (when the other thingy goes past E - FILL the car). And because of My Miss Daisy status, carparking for me has caused nothing but panic attacks. Parallel parking and me will never be friends. It is an evil, evil thing!! I have a carpark in town so there it was. On Saturday night I DROVE the kids myself and PARKED in the carpark. Well, I did scour the carpark building for a totally vacant floor so that I could reverse in without taking out any other cars (getting some practise) and I got it in three little re-wriggle moves! Yay me :).
And then we were off to the waterfront. My kids don't have the street smarts I reckon I have (being raised in South Aucks). So I was all cautious Mama and pointing out significant landmarks in case we got split up. The lost kid contingency plan? I would text them if I lost them and they would meet me at such and such a spot. Brilliant! Sorted. Didn't even need it, my little pauas stayed close to me, barely ventured more than a metre from my side and were keen to voice "MUM!" at the top of their lungs if I moved from their line of sight haha. Bumpkins all of them!! Plus I held on to them the whole time anyway lol. We had snacks, we had the coolest spot on the waterfront and the kids and I were ready. The fireworks were pretty special :-). I am all about building traditions right now, creating memories building and adding to our whanau foundations. I believe we have got the first one underway. Now, what will we do for Christmas?
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Political neutrality.
Had an interesting conversation in a meeting at work today. Discussing issues around Union matters and the subject of political neutrality raises its head. You'll probably guess, if you don't know me, that I am a very hardworking Public Servant. No. That is not a juxtaposition, the two terms should never be seperated. I have been thinking about this subject since well, since I started working there. Recently I have been tiptoeing around and maintaining a safe distance from 'political speak' and trying to be as neutral as possible.
Part of the reason I tiptoe is because I am petrified of losing my job - I have kids and my natural fear is that I wont be able to care for them. But last night was different. I was commenting on Facebook and had absolutely no problems owning my beliefs, and putting myself out there. I was all for Pita Sharples, and Tariana Turia. I wasn't on any national stage trumpeting the benefits of this, that and the other. Not by a longshot, just chatting. Nothing too public on Facebook (okay, that is a juxtaposition), and no big stakes in it but I was pretty passionate and vehement about my beliefs. I know that is the point of being political, but you need to understand what a chicken shit I am.
When you start working as a Public Servant they drum that political neutrality into you. And it freaked the bejeebers out of me. As a naturally conservative and reserved person (don't laugh friends and whanau, the big mouth is a cover) political neutrality suited me fine! But I think I have allowed myself to become politically invisible. But throughout this year, little things have started stirring. I have wanted to be more proactive as a Union rep at work, I have wanted to stand for something, I have wanted my own platform, know who I am, know what I am. I have spent years knowing who the ex was, knowing what he stood for and supporting that. I forgot myself in the process.
But I have started laying the foundations, and going with my gut! I pursued and have taken up a National role with the Union. I have wanted this. I am doing this. And I am remembering to trust my instincts. You know, the one where youknow something just does not feel right. At one time in my life I knew how to articulate that feeling. But it wasn't based on an idea of who I was, it was based on learned responses from studies, lectures, media coverage, the ex, others. Nothing wrong with reiterating what others say, especially when it resonates, right? But, I have my own mind, I trust that I speak for my whanau, I know what I want for us. That is my political voice.
Part of the reason I tiptoe is because I am petrified of losing my job - I have kids and my natural fear is that I wont be able to care for them. But last night was different. I was commenting on Facebook and had absolutely no problems owning my beliefs, and putting myself out there. I was all for Pita Sharples, and Tariana Turia. I wasn't on any national stage trumpeting the benefits of this, that and the other. Not by a longshot, just chatting. Nothing too public on Facebook (okay, that is a juxtaposition), and no big stakes in it but I was pretty passionate and vehement about my beliefs. I know that is the point of being political, but you need to understand what a chicken shit I am.
When you start working as a Public Servant they drum that political neutrality into you. And it freaked the bejeebers out of me. As a naturally conservative and reserved person (don't laugh friends and whanau, the big mouth is a cover) political neutrality suited me fine! But I think I have allowed myself to become politically invisible. But throughout this year, little things have started stirring. I have wanted to be more proactive as a Union rep at work, I have wanted to stand for something, I have wanted my own platform, know who I am, know what I am. I have spent years knowing who the ex was, knowing what he stood for and supporting that. I forgot myself in the process.
But I have started laying the foundations, and going with my gut! I pursued and have taken up a National role with the Union. I have wanted this. I am doing this. And I am remembering to trust my instincts. You know, the one where youknow something just does not feel right. At one time in my life I knew how to articulate that feeling. But it wasn't based on an idea of who I was, it was based on learned responses from studies, lectures, media coverage, the ex, others. Nothing wrong with reiterating what others say, especially when it resonates, right? But, I have my own mind, I trust that I speak for my whanau, I know what I want for us. That is my political voice.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
To be, or not to be...political.
I have been trying to keep my blog simple, and explore notions of whanau. Whanau is where its at for me these days, out of necessity and because I want to build a formidable sense of it for my kids. Not in the mafioso sense, in a values-based, strength-based, positive sense. And today I built on more of that. Found myself home early from work, which sadly is rare, and I only had one child, which is even rarer! So there we were, the potiki and I, bonding over jet planes (orange for him, green for me); watching a bit of Ben 10; chatting about Kura and the roasting of marshmallows at the beach on his trip that day. Its the simple things in life that matter when you're one on one with a five year old. The others were all out at Touch training and Waka Ama training. Sports and kids are like a no brainer right? Discipline, responsibility, team work, fitness, fun, and (costs aside) relatively pain-free! And I don't have to do anything. Great stuff.
But well, maybe I need to get writing about other stuff, get a bit more political. You see I've latched onto another blog and I usually don't comment on them. But I started commenting on this other blog and I bloody couldn't shut up! I managed to contain myself - barely, and so now I think I need to extend my writing. I have strong ideas about Māori Education, of course, that's my background. And I have some unionist perspectives on stuff, which I'm keen to explore too. And the political stuff is pretty hot right now. So, maybe my first official outblog could cover some of that, or all of that! Or alternatively, I could keep bombing other blog's!
Actually, I think the habit of writing has to gain momentum first. Regular and often. I love writing, that's not a problem. Writing has always been a passion, and comes easy to me. I love words. I remember sitting on the Capital Connection one time trying to argue with an artist that the view of Raukawa Moana and Kapiti Island that day could be better described with my words than with her paints. Threatening, dark, moody, anxious and foreboding versus shades of grey, and hues of purple, blue and tinges of black? I think on some level we were 'speaking' the same thing, just through different mediums. Time of course is an issue. Cant blog about my whanau all the time, or it will take me away from them! And I am healing through writing which of course was the covert reason for setting up the blog. I took an emotional battering and thought I could blog about that for a wee while. I am pleasantly surprised that I don't want to write as much about that as I thought. It will rise up every now and then no doubt on my epic journey, but I think maybe I've made my way around a bend, and the road is getting easier.
But well, maybe I need to get writing about other stuff, get a bit more political. You see I've latched onto another blog and I usually don't comment on them. But I started commenting on this other blog and I bloody couldn't shut up! I managed to contain myself - barely, and so now I think I need to extend my writing. I have strong ideas about Māori Education, of course, that's my background. And I have some unionist perspectives on stuff, which I'm keen to explore too. And the political stuff is pretty hot right now. So, maybe my first official outblog could cover some of that, or all of that! Or alternatively, I could keep bombing other blog's!
Actually, I think the habit of writing has to gain momentum first. Regular and often. I love writing, that's not a problem. Writing has always been a passion, and comes easy to me. I love words. I remember sitting on the Capital Connection one time trying to argue with an artist that the view of Raukawa Moana and Kapiti Island that day could be better described with my words than with her paints. Threatening, dark, moody, anxious and foreboding versus shades of grey, and hues of purple, blue and tinges of black? I think on some level we were 'speaking' the same thing, just through different mediums. Time of course is an issue. Cant blog about my whanau all the time, or it will take me away from them! And I am healing through writing which of course was the covert reason for setting up the blog. I took an emotional battering and thought I could blog about that for a wee while. I am pleasantly surprised that I don't want to write as much about that as I thought. It will rise up every now and then no doubt on my epic journey, but I think maybe I've made my way around a bend, and the road is getting easier.
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