This is one I’ve been thinking about writing for some time now son. Right now, we live in a world where social media is a big thing – most people are on it in one way or the other. It took me a while to get on board, and even now, I’m a bit of […]
Life is only available in the present moment
Live in the moment son. People call it all sorts of things from ‘the flow’ to ‘the zone’. Life is lived in the present moment. Asking you to do this, or even to recommend doing this is asking a lot of you for the future because it is not easy. It is one thing that […]
Rakeiora ‘Adorn life’ – The meaning of your name
Rakeiora, this one is all about you. How you came into this world and the meaning of your name. Twelve years ago today Mama and I become husband and wife. It was one of the happiest days of my life, and when I think back to it, I can’t believe how far we have come […]
Learn to build son (mahi hanga)
Building something yourself is so much fun! Doing it with you has been awesome! I think there is something really special about sharing this experience together, it has been such an exciting few weeks, and I still can’t believe how much you’ve picked up. Some day when you wonder why you’re so great at building, […]
Learning Te Reo Māori
Son, I am on a journey to be fluent in Te Reo Māori (the Māori language). I will be taking time each day to become fluent. I have learnt so much of the language just listening to you and Mama. Rakeiora it’s amazing really, you are teaching me and helping me learn. I think it […]
Whanaungatanga – the value of family and whakapapa
Whakapapa connects us with each other and our history. It connects us with the land and all that is around us. It is an important part of our culture. As I grew up Koro would recite whakapapa every morning. I never really understood the importance until I was a lot older. In his whaikōrero (speech) […]
Retain the magic
Officially it’s only the end of November, yet you’ve created the ‘magic’ of Christmas for the past month now! Son you found the box of decorations and bits and pieces and have been playing with these ever since. You’ve been dressing up and we’ve had to buy you a t-shirt, elf shoes, a beard and […]
Share and care
Yesterday you reminded me of this important lesson son. While we were at playgroup, one of the first things you wanted to do when your friend arrived, was share some of your food with her. You have made this such a routine that you always want to do it. You now both do it – […]
Keep your word
A few things have happened lately son, that have made me think about this. Basically there’ve been a few instances lately where people haven’t kept their word and it’s frustrating. Maybe they’re not intentionally doing it, but there’s always flow on effects, like someone else having to pick up the load or just plain wasting time. […]