An Unexpected Journey

Our tardiness in blogging has been due to an unexpected journey. No, not to the Lonely Mountain for treasure as in "The Hobbit" movie, however similar in that ours was also an adventure story set in New Zealand. Our journey was to the city of Nelson, a place at the top of the South Island. This is where my Mum is originally from, and where several family members including my sole remaining grandparent (Grandad Cederman) lives. It was about an hour-long flight to get there, which sure beats 15 hours of  curvy mountain driving with a ferry inter-island crossing in the middle!

Nelson is the best place in the world.

A picture of Nelson from the plane.

We had received news that my Grandad suffered a heart attack and subsequent fall which broke his hip. After surgery he developed a serious infection and was in pretty dire straights. My Grandad and I are pretty close, as I lived with him and took care of him on two occasions 5 and 6 years ago (for 3-4 months at a time). I couldn't bear the idea of coming all the way back to NZ just to miss out on seeing him because we waited too long to get to Nelson. We also really wanted to be able to support him and other family members with our presence there. Thankfully my excellent academic supervisors and colleagues encouraged my desire to go visit so so off to Nelson we went for a week.

It was bittersweet to be back in Nelson, as I have so many fond childhood memories there, as well as those of a young adult between degrees, discovering who I was and what I thought of the world. It's a beautiful place and to me, filled with a sense of quiet peace and safety away from the world.

Panorama Brian took from one of our favorite hilltop spots looking from Nelson out onto the Tasman Bay.

We played a game of lawn bowls with the extended family and I captured a hedgehog one night!

But it was hard to see my Grandad in such a state as he was. Turns out that we had a very special week together though, sharing some of our favorite things (music, reading, conversation, and jokes...I think there was even a new one in there!). Brian was very supportive of me through it all and got the "official blessing" from Grandad, haha (seeing as he hasn't seen us as a married couple until now). That was pretty neat.

He managed to get out of bed into a wheelchair on the last day or two of our trip. He's been through a lot.

 It was good to see the rest of the family there too and be able to help with some tidying of the house. Grandad has an amazing backyard filled with fruit trees and vines he's planted (as well as a prolific vegetable garden in bygone days). So when not at the hospital or on a beach run or doing chores we had fun in the garden.

View from the backyard...inspiring enough for ya to grow some spuds? Worked for Grandad for 50 years.

Me collecting walnuts by the shed.

Brian chomping a kiwi fruit from the backyard vine. Biggest one ever!

Apple danish made from Grandad's apple tree.

Tea time, and always time to enjoy the view of the bay from the living room. A great place to process your life.

We are back in Hamilton now, but as of the latest update Grandad is steadily improving. His quality of life will never be the same, he may never be mobile or live in his house again, but for some reason (as he was begrudged to admit at first), God has kept him around on earth for a bit longer. Who knows why these things happen this way? But I am grateful to have gotten to see him and feel that when he does die, both he and I will be ok with it.

Other than our unexpected journey, life in Hamilton has continued to be more and more like home as we find our little routines and develop friendships. My friend Catherine at school (research support officer for my research group) has been exceptionally kind to Brian and I since my start at the University of Waikato. She likes giving presents and often supplies me with some sort of yummy food or exotic fruit to enjoy. At first it was kiwiberries, then involvement in a delicious cupcake baking scheme, then feijoas, and the latest was the most delicious passionfruit I have ever eaten!

Most delicious passionfruit I have ever eaten!!! (empty skin).

Feijoas.....totally delicious undiscovered fruits!

Just scoop it out like a kiwifruit.