The last few weeks have been full of nostalgia…
When I see Hannah walking (scooting) ahead of me to school,
on the same pavement I pounded to school,
(or later in life shuffled with my head buried in a good book),
feelings from my childhood rush back with a bang.
This week I attended Hanna’s assembly and it was stronger than ever…
As I stood in the back with the other parents and sung the New Zealand national anthem for the first time in years I got tears in my eyes and goosebumps.
It took me back 25 years to when I would have been standing in Hannah’s shoes.
So familiar to me and so comforting.
Then it occurred to me that to Hannah, having grown up in a different country, would be finding it all so totally foreign!
I bet at the first assembly she was there she thought –
“but this isn’t the national anthem, what on earth are they singing?!”
Especially as over half of it is in Maori which will be a completely foreign language to her.
Maori is also spoken throughout the day in the classroom as part of the curriculum here –
I wondered for the first time how that makes Hannah feel…
And I felt a heart tug moment.
My girl is so brave!
She is embracing these changes with much less uncertainty than I would.
Then I got to witness her get her first “Principal’s award”.
Proud Mummy moment – only at the school a few weeks and already she’s won several prizes and had a certificate presented to her in assembly.
What a clever girl.
This morning I went shopping with a new friend –
the mother of the little girl that I think will become Hannah’s new bestie.
She is someone I feel that I could talk to for hours and never run out of words.
We drove through the neighbourhood Mr Flutter and I lived in when we were first married
and “lunched” at one of my old regulars.
So yes, the last few weeks have really been so full of nostalgia.
It feels a bit like putting on an old pair of comfy slippers,
well worn in and a perfect fit.
I wonder how long the feelings will all last for…
PS no more updates on the house yet. We are still finding our feet with all the paperwork…
That happened to me when I moved to Canada after being in Barbados… I didn’t know the anthem, it too was in two languages, one I didn’t know… it was very different lol… and yet, I was Canadian
Sounds really great xxx
It sounds like things are going very well! Enjoy it!
I am so impressed that students get the native language delivered in classrooms. Wish Australia did that too as a whole. I live on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia and we are just introducing our local language Narungga as a lesson. I think it needs to be part of the every day curriculum as it appears to be in NZ. Well done Kiwi education system! And it’s nice to bring the kids up where you grew up. We moved back here 4 years ago when my eldest was 5. Best move ever!
Glad you’re all settling in nicely :o)
Aww, this post makes me all weepy! Love our beautiful homeland and so proud of you and the girls 🙂 xx