Dec 2015 – Life in Eureka

Our vegetable garden in one of the many garden plots in our home

The first crops grews by a disabled man and for us.

We looked back to the first Christmas in 2014 and that was the year we moved here as our new home. We have the Masters, Follett/Armstrong and some of the Wongs family shared with us for Christmas lunch with us here.

Today it was just four of us and spend a wonderful relaxing day… Not any of these families came to see or share with us for lunch or dinner this year… They choose to be somewhere else’s place today. We were hoping that they can join with us more often because we been to their places so many times over the years. Our home have got plenty of spaces and freely to walk around the fields even to play cricket or golf than in someone’s place. A lovely bbq with a couple umbrellas for the courtyard and chairs/tables everywhere – under many large trees for shades or in the courtyard where we have sailcloth.

We will visit mum and a brother down in Ralgan in a couple days – we don’t really want to visit the city of Hamilton over the holidays. The last time, mum and my aunty visited here was in Autumn – just my mum and aunty. My sister visited last April only. My niece with her family came down here for a visit from San Francisco early this year for the first time after 2 years in the city of Hamilton (at my sister’s place). Another person came here often, was a disabled man who I support and assisted him throughout years. He loves and enjoys here as a relaxing place or a memory childhood of his farm in Walton and other places where he grows up. His last visit was a couple months ago. So he and his brother of Wellington, will be joining with us at the end of this month or next month… He will be turning 65 years old next month.

We love our home and it gave us spacious to do gardening, woodworking in either three large buildings – a shed/double garage and a double carport, dogs runs, an escape haven from the city of Hamilton. During the summer, we choose to sit under large trees anywhere as shade bring us cool, joy to relax and to look at the gardens filled with flowers and vegetables. Everywhere is flat and easily accessible land, not just hilly, two or three stories houses/apartments and high slope land. Our home fills with loves, laughters, joys and experience here. We lost one dog last year and we gain another dog to replaced the one we lost. It gave us joy and laughter here.

Nearby our home – there are plenty of orchards and we still visit any one of the orchards such as Olde Berry Farms, Apple Orchards, Blueberry Orchards. I often stop by on my way home from work in the city of Hamilton. It is handy for me to stop at any orchards and buy fruits or milk even ice cream/ice yoghurt cream. We grew lots of vegetables since we moved here and I made lots of chutneys, jams and relishes. I gave fejios to local schools around here and my works including the people I supported/assisted. One funny thing i recalled stopping at Morrinsville Countdown car park and I saw a motor scooter parked in the car park. 2015-05-01 13.26.07

That photo was taken in April 2015 because my partner gave me a new car for birthday. I am still advocating people/children with disabilities around New Zealand. My focus area is rural country now because there are many people/children even families with a disabled child/adult living in rural and they are feeling isolated from the city.

We learn to read weather signs like rain, frost, wind here. If I have to go to work in the city, then I will have a spare rain coat in the car for the city. Because if I leave here in the morning with a fine weather and by the time I arrive in the city, it will be raining.

Dogs love here where there are plenty of furry animals in the early hours of mornings or nights…. They chased out to get it even they willing to bring inside the house if I am asleep. Better not!! There are abundance of rabbits/bunnies, possums, all kinds of birds and hedgehogs here.

We are looking forward a New Year especially our visitors of my partner for bbq, and the person and his brother, I am supporting/assisting for visit……………… Who knows if any of my families may turn up to visit if they are willing to come and see the changing of our works here since last Christmas 2014.

Holidays are idealised as times of celebration. They are embedded in cultural symbols, family patterns, and lived experience. Because all holidays are not good times, however, the lived experience of holidays is considerably more complex than its symbolisation. This ambivalence is dramatically deepened for recently disabled adults who view holidays as a specially strained time of remembrance. http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1782&context=jssw

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mmm, looking so many medias such as online newspapers from worldwide, Universities papers by doing researching, exploring, reading or watching videos on how the lives of people/children with disabilities compared to other people who are poor, living in a violent country, or involved as domestic violence abuse etc…. There are so much anger, hatred, depressing news, breaking news, even torment times or happiest news over years. Nothing compare with each other people’s lives… It is pretty much the same as everyone else in the every days lives. – UP or DOWN……

What about disabled people lives through Christmas and New Year times? I often wondering did they have happy experience with their own family or friends or not. But to reflect to the poorer countries even Middle East where there are so many bitter and hates and the continuing of wars make impact on their lives. Recently in UK, there is benefit cut for many disabled people….. Many homeless people who are out of works, their own homes, even separate from their families, facing hard times during Christmas and New Year.. No where to stay, to eat even spend alone in the street, under the bridges or in the park. It is the same in New Zealand. I have see an increasing number of unemployment, crimes and domestic violent abuses around Waikato especially people with disabilities who unable to find jobs or to live on low benefit.

What about the people with disabilities in poverty countries?

What about the children with disabilities in Israel?

Does these boys receive joy of love or laughter?

mmmm, everyone celebrates differently through holidays (Christmas and New Year) seasons. Most people takes religion in Christ who born on Christmas Day and died for us on Easter Day. Other people don’t celebrate Christmas but in a different way like a holiday celebration to share with their families and friends. For example Jehovah Witness people don’t celebrate Christmas, Easter, even birthday…. Because they believe Christmas is false religion. Christmas is not a Muslim holiday but Muslim countries do not celebrant it.

The poorer countries – there are lot of poverty and discriminate over people/children with disabilities. There are no money or financial supports from other countries. Most of them in a family supporting by having a male breadwinner as financial supporter. Some families felt shame by having a person with disability in the family or don’t ask for help for health funding.

We must think of their support workers like me, staff who works in hospitals, rest homes, in schools, who looks after people/children with disabilities. They are wonderful workers and put their own times to work and support people/children with disabilities. Currently I work for many people/children with disabilities over many years and I made sure that they were happy and to have some there in homes during my breaks. Only one new Deaf couple who are expecting a baby and their families are not really supporting them but in a separate way. For example – a Deaf man who his mother will support him and his children only, not the Deaf daughter in law. I lost the count of people/children who have had illness or with disabilities passed away over many years ago. Their families were grateful for my support and kindness and of course they remains to keep in touch with me…

One day, I walked to the Central Library and someone asked me about the blanket and pillow were left on the garden bench in the Garden Place, Hamilton. I simply told this person that it was one of the homeless person who had been sleeping in the early hour of the morning and the stuff belongs to one of the Homeless Shelter place in Garden Place. This person was horrified to hear that and told me that any homeless people should be ban from Garden Place, Hamilton. I asked this person – are you Christian/a person who is in good faith to care about other people? The reply was simple – No. I walked away to the library.

Christmas is about Jesus, a time to share with family, to remember someone who you loves so far away, to share with stranger if a person who has no family or friends around and a time to rest from work……… It is not just for religion but something to celebration. Not just about wanting expensive presents – laptop, iPad, iPhones, toys etc…….. How about growing and giving foods away, making jams, chutneys, sauces, cakes???? How about making furniture, scrapbooks, pot plant holder, dress, a simple equipment for any disabled person who would like to do something themselves without helpers??????