Cecile and I go down Norman's Rd to a little cafe I've passed often in 18 years. I realise today is the anniversary of moving from Archer St to College Ave. We were all ready to go on Tuesday afternoon but the guy renting 22 College Ave wasn't organised and said that if he had till Tuesday, he had till midnight on Tuesday. I was being very discrete as I was buying the house from Trevor and Deborah, friends who had had it listed with Harcourts. They hadn't sold it so we arranged a private sale. Trevor and Deborah thought it against the rules so we kept it quiet. Thus the house key was to be passed from renter to a mutual friend. I was ten days overdue with Kahu and unable to do anything physical so the move happened around me. Eventually late on Wednesday afternoon. Boxes and boxes and some furniture, though Mark and I didn't own much.
On Thursday night I went into Christchurch Womens' for an induction to try to start the birth. Nothing happened so I went in on Friday morning. I was on sick leave from school. The Deputy Principal had watched me grow and grow till finally she called me into her office. "You've got sick leave," she declared, and signed me off. Friday was a strike day. I went to hospital again at lunchtime then late afternoon when they admitted me. An epidural and breaking of water later, I was still waiting.
By the time Kahu's heart rate halved around 12:30 am, I had already signed papers for a cesarian. I didn't care how it happened, I wanted a healthy baby. The operating team moved fast. I was conscious when they pulled Kahu out at 12:55. The pushing and pulling felt wierd but I heard his first cry. They put him at my side and he immediately started breast feeding. Nature's amazing.
I stayed in hospital for a week. Couldn't move far and certainly couldn't unpack a house. Thanks God for friends. Judith and Karen cleaned, unpacked and arranged furniture for me. I came home to a home. It was the middle of the day and Margot drove me. I put my bag down, found my Salmonella Dub cd and danced around the living room with Kahu in my arms. The only thing I didn't find for a while was a Year 10 assignment.
So this time of year holds memories for me: a house, a baby, a mortgage. I signed the purchase papers in the maternity home. Luckily the Southland Building Society organised a good insurance policy: replacement as new. Now my baby is 18 and living far away. My house is gone. In time both will return, different and dear to my heart. Closely connected in time and place.
Cecile and I walk around the scaffolding. Cecile decides she is going to recycle nails. They're all over the site. She gathers them to take to a metal recycler. I leave to pick up taps. Preplumbing is next week. Then I try to find Nicki and can't. I need to check up on a few things and realise how much I value her advice.
The day ends at North Beach. There's a cool breeze. Sagra is having his 18th, leap year baby, so 72nd birthday celebration at the North Brighton Community Centre. It's a family, slide along the polished floor, party.
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| My room |
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| Llew's nude at North Beach- Kahu climbed on it as a child |
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| My swimming spot |
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