Well, I knew from the start what this one would be. I have been living in New Zealand close to eight years now, and this place is as far away from where I come from as possible without going to the moon. Being so removed from other countries (Australia is our only main neighbor, then it's at least 6 hours to the next continent!) has its ups and downs. I am convinced New Zealand's size and distance to other civilizations is the reason why it is the way it is: a not too populated not too developed piece of land with some beautiful natural heritage (constantly threatened, but I will reserve a proper discussion for another post) and really a great lifestyle. The downside is, it takes a good 30 hours (including stop overs and travels to/from airport) to get to France, and it costs an arm and a leg, if not more. Plus, air travel is not green at all. So I don't travel back as often as I'd like, so I don't get to see the people I love on a regular basis and that sucks.
I really really miss all my friends and family. They are something I will never be able to replace. I have made very good friends here, but it still doesn't feel the same. My connection with those far away people was built over year spent together, and for some reason I can feel that. Whenever I go back and catch up with some of those special people, it's as if I had never left. And that is the true beauty of friendships. We are connected, no matter what. This is the one thing I am finding hard to live with, and that makes me think sometimes that I could go back and live there. Maybe. One day.
I find it hard to think that Tahi is missing out on a lot of quality time he could spend with his "mamie" and "tonton", and I am missing out too. Going back to visit every couple of years makes time spent with people very special, but I really cherish the everyday aspect of relationships, the little things we only remember afterwards. Like how my brother and I always used to make silly faces and laugh silly, or how my mum has tried to grow a Bougainvillier at home for years because it reminds her of her roots.
After all, that is how relationships and memories are built, the routine of everyday life is often interrupted with those little special moments.But you have to be present to witness it and you can never tell when it will happen.
So here is my card of the week. A woman lying on her front, writing something, gravitating on a background of camelias and daisies, and flames at the bottom, "burning" hand written names. I was inspired by something I wrote to one of my best friends not long ago: "Il y a des fois ou je me demande si vraiment vivre a l'autre bout du monde dans un petit paradis c'est pas un peu l'enfer." ("there are times where I wonder if living on the other side of the planet in a little paradise isn't a bit like hell").
I cut out flower from the french magazine Elle, the woman lying down was in my "collection" of cut out bits, and the flames are made with some red fabric and some shiny red gauze cut into triangles and then sewn on the card.
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