When I stand before thee at the day’s end, thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing. – Rabindranath Tagore
Waking up each morning to see the garden through open windows
“The sun shall always rise upon a new day and there shall always be a rose garden within me. Yes, there is a part of me that is broken, but my broken soil gives way to my wild roses.” ― C. JoyBell C.
Reflecting on the afternoon of the result of the people involved and assistance at the accident site three weeks ago. I was talking to my pastor (colleagues at work) this morning. He asked me how I am faring through daily life, saying that my strength builds up very slowly. Because when I travel out to work and visit the persons, I am supporting by leaving the intersection where the accident took place from our home, which is next to this site.
”Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller.
Some days I am okay, and other days, I am quiet and reserve my time out in the garden with our three dogs. Our dogs are brilliant, keep me company and comfortable to stand beside me. My partner is great support for he went through the same experience as a motorbike accident and crashed into a large tree. When I found my time to do reading books, tidying up the work at home office, doing jigsaw puzzles online, I do the blog by writing down as a way of philosophy which I love.
”Meditation can help us embrace our worries, our fear, our anger; and that is very healing. We let our own natural capacity of healing do the work.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Found this card from my brother in my home office recently. This picture of a duck bought humour.
Mindfulness mediation is an excellent way to do this way…
“Right at the depth of the human condition, lies the longing for a presence, the silent desire for a communion. Let us never forget that this simple desire for God is already the beginning of faith.”
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
(Thank you, J. C. for this verse, and this is a good one. Because she went through the same experience – witnessed someone killed in front of her happened quickly in the past.)
If any of you like me got involved with assistance to many shock and injuries people from the serious car accidents, life would not be the same as before. Everyone’s lives go on as usual daily commutes in the rural from the city of Hamilton or other places. We witnessed two people who have died there – a 10 weeks old baby and a young mother, and our memories are raw and never goes away. At the moment, the sound of the car/truck/motorbikes traffics passing beside our property remain the same noise, and there are many different vibrations of the speed by the drivers who are driving the vehicles continuously over a period of time; always remind me and our neighbours through daily reunite Our families recently have newborn babies – one was born in late December 2021, just under 10 weeks old, and the second was born last month. My partner became a grandfather eight times, and I became a great-grandaunt for the seven-time.
“In a time of trial, we can sometimes latch onto a verse from a psalm or from the gospel as to a life preserver. And perhaps the more the words we are using are simple and direct, the more helpful they are. One person may say: “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear ?” Another will remember the words Jesus spoke during the storm on the lake: “It is I. – Do not be afraid.” Each one of us perhaps can think of a text that provided support in a time of need.” from Brother Emile to Brother Roger – Taizé.”
My favourite times are spending solitary hours in the garden, reading books and the Bible, spending time with my partner and three dogs, and talking to the people/the pastor I trust at the workplace, my neighbour who is a Christian and my family. Our three dogs are the best comforters, keep company and stay by stay to ensure I am okay. I spend time writing notes, blogs and stories in my own time. I came across my note mark from the book I was reading many years ago for someone who lost a grandfather. Here is the quote from Mother Theresa.
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… the more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within—words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.” – Mother Theresa, Something Beautiful for God, p. 48
This morning, a little girl of my neighbour who was with me to witness the accident came over and suggested, “Why not grow sunflowers in our field?” She wrote it down in her own handwriting so I could read. there are three different ones –
“If Sunflowers Grow in Heaven Lord, please pick a bunch for me. Place them in ……’s arms and tell … they are from me. Tell… that I love and miss … and when she turns to smile, Place a kiss upon her cheek, and hold her for a while. Because remembering her… is easy, I do it everyday. But there is an ache within my heart that will never go away….. Names of the person/people passed away can be add and the date/year underneath this quote” This quote is familiar to me, but I have not seen this one for such a long time.
“And that will be heaven,
At last, the first unclouded seeing,
To stand like the sunflower
Turned full face to the sun
Drenched with light
In the centre held
While the circling planets
hum with joy.
Seeing and knowing
At last, in every particle
Seen and known
And not turning away
Never turning away again.”
The last quote, I know this one as well.
“Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadow,
it’s what sunflowers do. Helen Keller”
Mm, I spoke to my partner about this little girl’s request, and he said, “Why not, because I (partner) know and believe you (Jean) loves sunflowers along with flowers in the garden.” That is a brilliant idea, and I will start planning this after our Deaf Christian Fellowship this afternoon.
One of our field will be decide for the sunflowers section.
Since a week ago, Tuesday has been the first day of the second month, and it is more complicated to move forward by looking out through the windows. But to see the temporary road speed signages standing on the edge of the roadside is a constant reminder of two people who died as a result of a severe cars accident. The Police and the Investigation team are still working on the accident site. Two people’s names were released through Police’s email and in the Waikato Times newspapers last Thursday.
From our kitchen windowFrom our laundry room
“Time has stopped. How can it possibly carry on when the sudden loss of my loved one has overcome me? Darkness fell. Where is the light they brought each day and the warmth of their embrace? Joy buried. My heavy heart feels empty, lonely, frozen by the fragility of life taken. And yet I still come to you Lord in this timeless, dark and frozen place where my heart resides. Time stopped when you took your final cry, your last breath of great suffering. Darkness fell, as your Father had to turn, to wait, to suffer a separation from you his beloved son. Joy buried with you in the tomb, hopeless, finished cold. And yet I know that you arose from that heartless, lonely and frozen place. You rose to life and extinguished the power of death. Thank you that my loved one has arisen with you into heavens glorious light. Thank you that right now they are alive in this place of incomparable beauty and eternal love. Lord Jesus, in you I trust. Amen.”
The main road is a state highway between Hamilton to Tauranga, Te Aroha, or other villages. We notice many different drivers in cars, tankers, transport trucks, couriers, motorbikes travelling between 100 km and 120km. The road code states that anyone must reduce the speed when driving near the curve bend and not overtake any vehicles. There is a stop intersection from the rural road before the state highway road. A stop sign means to stop and check for clear of traffic coming and move onto the state highway road. The last accident was not severe approximately three years ago. It was further up the state highway road in the early morning hour. Nobody was injured, and the drivers were shocked, except one of the vehicles hit our previous dog and killed the dog.
We have travelled back to Hamilton three times since a week ago, except my partner go out to work and travel home five days a week. There was nothing usual but seeing the temporary speed signs up on the roadsides bought the memory of my afternoon at the accident site. And to see a family with a two-month-old baby in the shopping centre. Yes, it is bare a raw scar memory that will remain in my heart and thought; my neighbours have this memory too. Of course, many drivers who travel past here were not aware of a severe accident by their driving speeds since the accident.
My newfound cousin who lives near here decided to rally or meet at our local hall as a neighbour. The foursome of the neighbours (cousin, farmhand staff, neighbour and I) combine as one team and invite councillors, MPs, Land Transport New Zealand manager, Police and local community for the public meeting. Time will tell as long we are not giving up. My family and close friends know me as a deaf with disabilities advocator. They think I will do this action plan with the neighbours in our local community as a deaf with disabilities/local person advocator here.
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” — Helen Keller
Regarding the families who have lost their loved ones, we, local neighbours, emergency staff, and Police, worked hard to do our best to assist on the road.
I was out working and had one physio appointment in the city of Hamilton yesterday morning (1/2/2022). After my physio, I popped to New World to get my partner’s basic grocery and lotto tickets. Heading home along the State Highway 26, from Newstead, the traffic of the cars pass too quickly and overtake for some reason. Every day, it had been like this I went to work or came home from work for a while. But yesterday it was different, and I got home at last. I made a late lunch after 1.30pm and let our dogs out for their run. I went into my home office and was just about to sit down while looking outside; Jazz, the dog, came back with a concerned look, and I heard a thunderous bang and crashed out there. I looked outside from the field while calling our young dog to come home. Oh shit, a serious cars accident at the intersection.
From Jean’s mobile camera 1/2/2022
I called our dogs to come back inside, grabbed my mobile phone, which had emergency text direct to 111TEXT (Emergency Services) and put on my gumboots. Out of the door, and close the door to prevent our dogs escaped from the house.
Prior arrived at the accident site by foot walking, my neighbour was standing at the driver’s side where another local woman was talking calming to the injured mother who was the driver. I noticed the male person presumed a partner or a husband of the injured mother trying to hold the head, and I called out not to move the mother’s head. I spoke to the woman aware I have First Aid and Health and Safety Representative skills. There was unexpectedly to see the young baby, approximately 2-3 months old and unresponsive, in the baby car seat in the back seat. Not many words to say except whisper quietly to my neighbour. A black car that flipped side up and burned away into flame. The workers of the transport trucks from the other side of the road put out the ignited flame by the fire extinguisher.
I walked around the accident site to check everything in order while motorists made mobile calls to the emergency services and other businesses or friends. Mind you, I am a deaf owner who lives near this accident site. I returned to the car, a young family, until emergency service arrived. Polices arrived first, followed by ambulances and fire engines and reported to them. My neighbour and I waited at the spot where our rural mailboxes are next to the field owned by us. I am not keen to type more details here. We witnessed everything from the start to the end. We are still trying to work out how the three cars accident happened, and we did not see the accident happen. The local woman and her husband were travelling behind these cars. They witnessed the accident. The transporter truck from the other side noticed too. It happened quickly.
The road was blocked for several hours, and I texted my partner about this accident. I suggest he come home on the back road from Ruakura, where he works at the Waikato Expressway Motorway. I went back home and continued eating late lunch and drinking my cold coffee. I texted my sister, mother, two bosses and of course, my partner.
My partner came home early via the back road and cuddled me, knowing I was okay and in disbelief over the accident. Then I got an email from the Police centre saying two people died, leaving two other people moderately injured and one person injured.
I did not sleep much that night and the morning came, I decided to stay home. Three local neighbours texted me about having the blessing at the accident site in the morning. I texted my fourth neighbour about this. We talked about the accident, so we recapped the previous afternoon. Then the blessing took place and placed flowers at the accident site. Except for the fourth neighbour, we walked back to one neighbour’s house for a cuppa.
Currently, there are several speed signs set up at the main State Highway road 26 and the road where we are living. We are trying to get back to our regular routine, and the memory of this accident will remain permanently in my mind, the neighbours’ minds.
Too many young drivers/young generations choose to ignore the speed, overtake or pass the car at the bend intersection, failing to slow down. Yes, other young people behave the same when driving along the State Highway road. We, local people, will be calling for a local area meeting and discuss with the MPs, our local councillor, Waikato District Council staff, Police and the Land Transport New Zealand Authority staff about the plan to reduce the speed.
There are two articles printed in the Waikato Times. See the link as follow here. Note in the second article that a first man arrived at the site, mentioned, “He said maize obscured the view of people coming around the corner from Morrinsville and turning into Hinton Rd.” He did not live here long, as he said four years. My partner and I have lived for more than 6 years, along with our neighbours. It may not cause by the maize obscured the view. We assumed the speed factor made the severe impact of damage to all cars and failed to watch the oncoming vehicle by slowing down if anyone could not see. We do not have the answer for this accident, only the survivors, Police and Traffic Accident Investigation team will tell.
Our dogs are great comfort and company and they stay beside me by checking me in my home office and around the garden. Our dogs are loyals to us.
Life in Eureka 
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