Holiday Fun
Happy New Year everyone. I trust you’ve all enjoyed an excess of holiday fun over the festive season and returning to work/school/studies will not be too stressful to you.
Holiday fun can come in many guises. Everyone’s concept is different and it would probably be easy to write a book with others’ ideas of what constitutes interesting and exciting holiday fun. Not that I’m looking to extend my writing experiences at all right now. We look for so many different ways to spend the days we have set aside as holidays depending on our interests, commitments, and even probably the time of year. What have you chosen to do?
As our summer holidays here in the Southern Hemisphere draw to a close I look back at why my writing has taken a back seat during the last couple of months. Holiday fun for me means time spent with family and friends. I don’t give too much consideration to where I am or what I’m doing, as long as the people around me are enjoying my company as much as I enjoy theirs. December began with an exciting cruise for my husband and I. We flew to Sydney for a couple of nights and then boarded a cruise liner and set off for New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Apart from a concern the rarefied atmosphere on board may have contributed to some shrinkage of my clothing, this week was wonderful. Time onboard was spent in holiday mode and we returned to Auckland refreshed and eager to maintain contact with the three wonderful new friends we’d made.
Shortly after a lovely Christmas with our children (less one living too far away) and grandchildren, I then visited my mother and sister for a couple of weeks. The urgency for this visit was three-fold. By far the most important was my mother celebrating her 99th birthday, I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. While she remains in excellent health we look forward to January 2015 and her 100th. Another day of my time in Southland was spent researching the setting for my new story. Driving to Riverton and Colac Bay and exploring the Longwood ranges I found exactly what I wanted. Up the Porakino Valley exists the exact mix of bush and farmland I was hoping to find. While I will likely rename the Valley – Muruhiku in honour of the Maori canoe that brought people to settle the South Island. Catching up with my other son and enjoying some time in his company completed a very enjoyable couple of weeks for me.
Next week the streets will empty of kids enjoying their summer break. Parks and beaches will again return to playgrounds of pre-schoolers and their caregivers. And as seems to happen every year, our less than perfect weather over the holiday period will probably change and now become the perfect summer we all hope for and expect.