- December was just totally crazy and was the best of times yet the not so best of times all at once. It was a month where i realised how life can literally change in a instant. A couple of weeks before Graduation at Wellington Nannies College, i flew up to Hamilton for an interview at The University of Waikato for a place on their Bachelor of Primary Teaching course, beginning in Semester A.That Friday morning, I had just missed the shuttle bus so instead i had to catch a taxi from the airport to Waikato University - this turned out to be not great as i had budgeted for and so $44 later, i was outside the School of Education ready for my interview.
The interview went okay and to be honest, i was not sure if i had done the best I could or not. Some of the questions i was asked, i was not entirely sure how to answered but i just hoped and prayed for the best result. After the interview i headed of to Rotorua to spend the night with Jocelyn and Alex Czerwonka and then planned to travel down with Jocelyn to Hawkes Bay on the Saturday.
During the day, i had tried to contact my parents a couple of times but didn't seem to get much of a response or if i did, it was very quick conversations. I wondered what the heck was going on and then that night when i was at Jocelyn and Alex's place i found out why. Nanna (Dad's mum) had been in hospital and was not doing too well at all - she was in ICU in Hawkes Bay hospital and the family had spent most of the day up there. They hadn't wanted to tell me before my interview which was understandable so then i would do my best without being too distracted.
Saturday I traveled back to Hawkes Bay nice and early in the morning. We stopped into Taupo and saw Cruz on the way which was neat. A couple of hours later and it was straight into an OSS (Order of St Stephen) workshop and a day of reflecting, prayer, worship and much more.
Finally got home to see the family on Saturday night and heard that Nana had improved so that was good. I was heading back to Wellington on the bus on Monday (i think) so wanted to make the most of time in the Bay.
Weekend in the bay went well and i managed to catch up with lots of the extended family see Nana in hospital too. then on Monday it was back to Wellington for my last 11days down there. - Tuesday 8th December was a day which i will NEVER forget. I had a massive assessment on at College and because it was the 2nd to last week, we were all trying to get everything finished off so we could graduate. We had class in the morning and then I had my progress report after lunch (or maybe before). at the end of my progress report, my support person Paulene, told me that she had had a phone call from Mum to say that Nana had passed away earlier in the day and that the family were all heading towards Hawkes Bay ASAP.
My initial reaction was "WHAT?!?! - I only saw her two days ago". It was weird to think that Nana would no longer be around. Wow, how strange Christmas would be. - .After many phonecalls, txts and msn conversations, Thursday lunchtime came around and Uncle Tim and my cousins were on their way up from Nelson and were picking me up. It was decided that Nana's funeral would be on Friday so we headed up on Thursday. It had been ages since seeing all the extended family but it was certainly great to see them all, despite the circumstances. or me, the news of Nana's death, hadn't really affected me that much as i was away from Hawkes Bay. It wasn't until i arrived back on the Thursday afternoon that the news kind of "hit home" i guess you could say.
- Thursday night and Friday morning were spent with mum and I rehearsing to play "The Power of Your Love" on the Piano and Clarinet. I had asked people earlier in the week if they wanted me to do a Clarinet Solo at the funeral and the Aunt's decided this would be a great idea. At the time i thought it would be too but trying to choose a piece to play was certainly not an easy task - neither was standing up in front of everyone on the Friday morning playing my clarinet.
- What an amazing funeral it was. So many stories were shared about Nana and the family growing up and just about Nana's life in general. Nana had been really involved in her church and especially in the flowers which decorated the church each week. The flowers that were there at her funeral were absolutely stunning and were just so typically her. I was involved so much in the funeral and had about four or five jobs to do - i was kept busy for sure. During my clarinet item, i was shaking so much and really did not want to do it but as i later found out, all the old laddies from the church who Nana used to spend a lot of time with, had heard so much about me playing clarinet and how proud Nana was me yet they had never heard it. After those conversations, I realised that playing my clarinet there was something i certainly had needed to do and was pleased i had done so.
- There had not been one single time, previous to Nana's funeral when each and every grandchild had been together in the same place at the same time. What was evident that day when all of us were together was that we all appreciated Nana and Poppa so much and that Nana had been and was still so proud of each and every one of us for what we had achieved so far and for what the future had in store for us. We really relied on each other that Friday morning for support and just for a shoulder to lean on - two of her grandchildren in the armed forces did a stood at attention as Nana was carried out of the church and even tears were in their eyes. What an incredible day.
- That night some of us were joking around a bit and then one of us commented that we would never be able to taste Nana's triffle or her steamed pudding again on Christmas day - that it would just not be the same.
One thing that really helped me get through everything during that crazy week, was the fact that i had the support of family and friends - some whom i had only known since July but were still there for me, praying and offering to help in any way they could.
Times change and everything in life seems to happen for a reason. Why Nana passed away, we are still not all sure of but i personally know that God has a plan for our lives and we need not worry.
When something like this happens, we need to hold onto what we have - the memories, the moments we shared together, the pictures/photographs we have and the lessons we have learnt from those particular people in our lives.
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