Lazy Summer Days

My daughter, at this moment, lays upon the warm tiles on our deck, accompanied by her cousin, Daisy and two of her mates from school.

They have been swimming for the better part of the afternoon and each of them have rosy cheeks and ever darkening skin.

Right now, they are telling scary stories.  They are unaware of my presence, just a few feet away, unseen in our office, listening.  I marvel over the ease of their interactions; how they laugh unselfconsciously and how they resolve minor differences with kindness.

Their voices are a singsong punctuated with percussive, emphatic, bursts.  They squeal and encourage and sigh in large, dramatic, notes.  There is never a lull in conversation.  Everyone has go.  It's a gorgeous thing to witness.

These four girls hail from all over the globe and they have no idea that today, this perfect summer day, served up to us with a gentle southwestern breeze, will turn into one of those sweet memories that as adults, they'll recollect.  They may not recall the details, as those become fuzzy with age, but they will remember how the sunshine felt on their young skin and how fun it was to wile away a warm summer day, not a care in the world, with family and friends.

I wish I could communicate to them that they will never be more free than they are right now but then again, that would take away the magic of this moment.  So instead, I sit here and listen to their chatter, remembering those days from my youth that were filled with cousins, the beach, hand-formed clay mugs drying in the sun and fresh clams soaking in the bucket.

It's January

Hi there.

Happy New Year!

Been a long time, eh?

Sorry about that.  Unfortunately, I can't promise that it won't be more of the same in the foreseeable future.  I'm up to my eyeballs.

Today, I will leave to travel down to Lake Karapiro where the National Sprints for outrigger are being held.  We've been training, almost daily, for these races, since the week before Christmas and three times a week for months before that.  My daughter, Olivia, is also on a team and has had similar training commitments over the last several weeks.  It's been mental.  I wouldn't change it for the world, though.  I am most at peace with paddle in hand, on the water.

Work is....well, work.  I made a decision just before Christmas to seek a position here in New Zealand and the job search has added the kind of stress that I haven't experience for a decade.  It's like being single again and starting to date.  The dread factor is enormous.  Why would I do this?

First, my business just does not require full time hours, which has been liberating from the sense that I have had far more time available to be a homemaker but problematic because I have had far more time available to be a homemaker.  Somewhere along the way, my family forgot how to pick up after themselves, do dishes, locate the vacuum cleaner and ask for permission before making commitments that involved me as chauffeur, baker and candy apple maker.

Second, just before Christmas, we received a call from a nearby private audiology clinic telling us that my son, Dylan, had been approved for a new set of hearing aids.  We showed up on the appointed day and he was outfitted with the most technologically advanced aids available on the market today.  Our cost?  $650 NZD.

We were given a receipt for insurance purposes and the value of the aids was just a hair shy of EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Before this, Dylan had required four sets of aids in his fifteen years of life to the tune of nearly $20,000 USD.  Every time one of them started to go on the fritz, I would have a nervous breakdown because the cost of hearing aids, unlike other technologies, has not come down over the years.  It's gone up.  The New Zealand government will continue to outfit Dylan with new aids, every three years until his 22nd birthday, as long as he remains a student.  After that, they will provide help in the form of grants.   Additionally, both kids have been to see the dentist (free) and have been to doctors ($30 co-pay) and clinics and been written prescriptions ($3).  People can afford to be well, here.  I've got to have some moles looked at and for the first time in twenty years, I didn't have to plan the dermatologist's visit around my annual deductible.  I am absolutely thrilled to once again be living in a country with universal healthcare.

Long story short, this is one of my reasons for seeking employment in New Zealand.  When I looked at our family use of the "system" versus our contribution, it was clearly disproportionate.  I felt the responsible thing to do was to secure a job here to be able to pay taxes into a system that is taking such good care of us.

Finally, Dallas and I had to look at the reality of our situation.  We definitely live comfortably but if we want to own a piece of property here in New Zealand, we will have to tuck away a considerable amount of money.  The average home price in East Auckland, where I live, is north of $600,000.  To obtain a competitive mortgage here, you've got to have substantial cash as a down payment.  The only way we see this happening is with me getting a second job.

I have learned something about myself.  I'm far enough down the track in my career that I understand what skill set I can bring to a company and with that understanding, comes a certain confidence.  It's not an ego thing, though.  It's just that I won't ever settle again and frankly, the opportunity will have to be pretty decent to have me leave my home office.

So there you have it.  With the holidays, kids out of school, sport, job hunting, business in the US, vacationing, etc., etc., my plate has been pretty full.  Yesterday, I ran up to the local dairy to grab a missing ingredient for the cupcakes I was baking.  While in the shop, I saw one of Olivia's old teachers, which was a bit distracting and it had me wondering if they were back in the classroom already preparing for the kids next month or if he just happened to live in the area.  At the same time, I was texting a paddle mate regarding travel plans for today.  I paid, walked out to my car and sat in the driver's seat finishing the text.

THEN THE CHILD STRAPPED INTO THE CAR SEAT IN THE BACK STARTED CHATTERING!

I don't have a child young enough to be in a carseat.

And that is when I realized that I was sitting in someone else's car, with someone else's child.

Yep. Up to my eyeballs, kids.