This year we travelled north to visit family and friends and catch up on lost time. This trip was so rewarding as we got to meet the latest addition to the family - at only 7 days old as well as the oldest in the family - at 90 years of age.
To me this trip was a reflection on life itself. To hold a 7 day old baby knowing the opportunities ahead of them and pondering on what journey they will take in life - to enjoying sitting with your husbands 90 year old grandmother discussing the journey she has already taken, seeing her weep with joy as she holds her great great grandson and yet pondering how it must be to grow old.
I've often wondered this with my own grandmother (who is now 84 years old) and discussed with her over the past couple of years. She is the last of her generation in her family, and the only grandparent I have left and I love her so dearly, but seeing her grow more and more frustrated with age saddens me. She is definitely young at heart, but what the mind wants to do, the body doesn't agree.
Although growing old is a fact of life, I can't help but wonder how lonely it must be to have your love ones - husband, brothers, sisters, parents, friends, all those who you've grown with now passed on, leaving you to find a new life, new friends, new challenges to keep you going. My nan says she is a very rich woman to have so much love in her family which keeps her going and it's fantastic to have such a matriarch like her.
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| My grandmother - Elizabeth Paki Haggie (nee Turner) overlooking the Ponderosa |
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| 90 year old Lorna Hudson (nee McManus) with Haerenga Grant Ray Tukariri Abraham |
Have a great night people!!
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