Dear Huhana and Kāhu, Today when we visited my Grandad, your Great Grandad, he was having a bad day. He was flicking his red-rimmed eyes from side to side, as he flipped from sad to frustrated and back. The nurses told us to take him somewhere quiet. We tried, but even your usual two and five year old antics couldn’t […]
Category Archives: Popular letters
Letter worth sharing – beating hatred
Dear Huhana and Kāhu o te Rangi Yesterday, 15/3/2019 nearly a hundred people were shot in two mosques in Christchurch. So far 49 have died. Huhana, you only asked one question, what’s a gunshot wound? They were shot because of their religion and race. There’s been a lot of talk about racism not being something […]
Making the most of the moments
You’re lucky to have loved ones in your life. Remember that, and tell them when you do.
Letter worth sharing – Don’t Be A Lemming
A lot of people you love have struggled with alcohol, I never thought I was one of them. But it’s been five months since I had a drink, and I realise now that I had never been in control of my relationship with drinking.
Not being in control of that relationship can mean different things for different people: sometimes wasted days hungover, sometimes sickness, jail, depression, sometimes death. So this is an important letter for you both.
Last week I saw a counsellor – Letters worth sharing
Dear Huhana and Kāhu, I hope by the time you’re reading this, these two pictures about staying alive and healthy will be just as cool as each other. I visited a counsellor last week. I’m sure a lot of other people did too, I hope they did. But while Instagram […]
What a Car Crash & Death Taught Me about Life & Happiness Pt.1
Dear H, This one is pretty personal and there’s a lot packed into the paragraphs, so take your time reading them. These first three letters were the hardest for me to write. But I did so instead of sitting down with you when you’re older, because it’s still easier for me to catch in writing […]
Letter to daughter: Hold your loved ones close
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 […]
Resilience and kids
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 […]