Archives
A birthday burden
Posted on November 26, 2020 Leave a Comment
(Images: My 30th birthday cupcake, Me & Martha 1985, Mum + Dad, My birthday 2015) I have a strange relationship with my birthday, I think lots of people do. Society at large places a lot of expectation on birthdays, the cards, the wrapping paper, the cake, really it is a lot (go checkout @jtfirstman “this […]
Bloc Cafe
Posted on July 4, 2020 Leave a Comment
Welcome to the Bloc Cafe. This is one of my fave places to visit with Martha and gets the tui of approval for being Dementia Friendly, so let’s talk a bit more about it. 20 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland, Level 2.Monday – Friday 730am – 3pmSaturday + Sunday 9am – 3pm09 630 0102Instagram: Bloc […]
Dementia Friendly Places + Spaces
Posted on July 4, 2020 Leave a Comment
What makes somewhere Dementia Friendly? A question I have been asking for 7 years and now I’m starting to answer. I’ve thought about it a lot, mostly in retrospect to places I visit frequently, why do I go there? First and foremost, the people of course, the atmosphere and the ambiance of a place has […]
Absence
Posted on April 23, 2020 Leave a Comment
Ninety percent of what I say at the moment are simple commands; “eat your food”“drink your water”“come on”“sit down”“stand up” On a good day it is peppered with “please”, “thank you”, and “you’re such a good girl”, on a bad day they are short and sharp, they hold any manner of things, anger, rage, frustration, […]
What will we lose?
Posted on March 31, 2020 Leave a Comment
I’ve become somewhat accustomed to loss, as humans I think we often tend to push our losses to the side and not deal with them, but as a caregiver I am constantly dealing with loss. It started with the loss of my Dad in 2013, and since then it has ranged between a drop of […]
Hine
Posted on March 28, 2020 3 Comments
One day you will become the embodiment of atua wāhine.It will be in the surrender that she makes her home in you.One day she will arrive and settle in your soul,early on you will go to war with her;How dare she come into your house!Most days you will not even know she calls you home.She […]
Letters to my Mama… part 5
Posted on November 4, 2016 2 Comments
“what must it be like to have nothing? not even memories to visit in the night”
Am I your daughter?
Posted on March 30, 2016 2 Comments
And if she does not remember me, please do not be offended if she does not remember you.
The Grief journey..
Posted on March 7, 2016 1 Comment
There is the all too familiar saying “time heals everything..” is it true? Maybe, I don’t think so. I don’t think you ever heal. You learn to cope better, manage every day life better, you learn to smile again and re-emerge as the person everyone once you knew you as.
When it hurts, it hurts
Posted on February 15, 2016 Leave a Comment
I am hurting. The pain is radiating from my heart and spreading down to the tips of my fingers and toes. It feels as if my hair aches and my finger nails are digging into me. This pain and grief feels familiar, common but also unfamiliar. I have not bathed in grief for a long […]
Me, Martha and Alzheimer's 