Pera Barrett: Letters to my daughter and son that I think are worth sharing with the world. The life lessons I’ve learned and want to pass on, the cover everything from resilience, to handling stress, the New Zealand political system, happiness, productivity, grief and depression – pretty much whatever lessons life throws my way. I write them down before I forget.
Dear Huhana and Kāhu ō te Rangi, Huhana, when I started writing this letter you were lucky enough to be on holiday with me, your mum, your grandparents and your bigger cousins. I was finishing it you and three of those cousins were a couple of lego blocks away from tearing apart the lounge in our …
Letter to daughter worth sharing: Making a Difference Read More »
Dear Huhana and Kāhu ō te Rangi, So I started writing these letters to you, but it’s kind of a blog too. There’s some really good reasons you should keep a journal or blog – but I’ve only included three. Mainly because I’m sick with a cold and that’s all I’m capable of doing right now. …
Why I started these letters and why you should keep a journal Read More »
Dear Huhaha and Kāhu ō te Rangi, This is the last part of my letters on what a car accident and death taught me about life and happiness. I tried to cover the five most important things I learnt after my car accident when I was twenty-two years young. I hope you take away some …
What a Car Crash & Death Taught Me about Life & Happiness Pt. 3 (Smiles) Read More »
Dear H and Jellybean, It’s voting day today. H, you came along with me to vote. Jellybean you’re not here yet, you can come next time. H, you asked what voting is, and I explained. For the next couple of hours, you claimed: “I win! I’m the leader!” For the last few …
Letter worth sharing: Voting is NOT the most important thing Read More »
Dear Huhana and Kāhu, Last night I dreamed my Grandad Ray (your Great Grandfather), had passed away. In the dream, my phone rang. “Hello?’ “Hey,” Mum said, “Grandad’s died.” Three words. I felt my stomach drop, but Mum sounded so composed. No surprise really. Her, the toughest woman I know. “OK, I’m on my …
Dear H, Two months ago I finished up in a job I loved doing, working in an area filled with people I loved being around. I’d been telling myself it was time to move on for a few months, for reasons I’ll get to soon. In my goodbye email, I wrote a few thoughts about …
Dear H, You’re 18 months old and pretty much mimicking anything we say, which is stupidly cute – but obviously means me and your mum need to make sure we’re not saying anything we don’t want you repeating on loop at daycare. My Dad had you walking around saying Dropkick in the weekend (rugby reference, hopefully). We talked …
I started writing this about four weeks ago on my way home from seeing my little cousin for the last time. She was 21 years old when she hung herself because she just couldn’t get things to feel right inside. I almost didn’t finish it since the writing had served it’s selfish self-therapy purpose. But watching my niece and …