Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
Mike, the technical guru half of this dynamo grandparent couple, edits in short musical interludes giving listeners moments to reflect. Their podcasts are such an easy listen. Click here for a 24 minute listen. If you enjoy podcasts there's a bunch of other recordings here - scroll down a little on DistanceFamilies.com BOOK SERIES NEWSAnytime I am heading to a different part of Auckland I put a copy of 'Being a Distance Grandparent' in my car. I try and include a stop at a retirement village and donate a copy for the residents' library. The latest stops have been #selwynvillage in Point Chevalier and #LadyAllumVillage in Milford. I love the surprised reactions from the receptionists! My books are also perfect for public libraries. Recently an American distance grandmother, who is a member of my private ‘Being a Distance Grandparent’ Facebook group reported… I requested your book from my public library but they did not have it in their collection. Much to my surprise, however, they bought it on Amazon and it was sent directly to me. All I have to do is return it now that I’ve finished reading it and the library will add it to its collection. News like that makes my day as it’s hard to reach public library decision makers. If you have a public library you regularly visit I would love it if you could bring my books to their attention. Click here for a one page document you may hand them with all the info. If you’ve read one or both of my books your recommendation will be valuable to them. ON THE HOME FRONTIn last month’s newsletter I mentioned we were off again to Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. Our last visit was plagued by horrendous weather so we had great hopes for this return sojourn. It wasn’t to be. More rain, flooded roads and gusty winds. We did walk on the beach a couple of times while carefully avoiding possible falling coconuts - but that was it. Our swimming gear and snorkels stayed in our suitcase and the whale watching boat trip was postponed a couple of times and never eventuated. It was still warmer than home which is always nice in winter. And yes, we saw more chickens at the airport. Here’s some pics. On a different front hubby and I have decided to downsize a little and we’ve signed up for a new-build apartment, 20 minute’s walk from where we currently live. It has lovely water views which was the attraction. The reason I am sharing all this is that our current 4 brm/2 bathroom, 10 year old house would be perfect for a returning expat or new migrant family. It will be going on the market next year. We have a bunch of appliances and furniture we can’t take with us. These items would be super handy for a newly arrived family. It is very expensive to ship furniture around the world and our bits n pieces would avoid any necessity to ‘camp out’ before the basics were acquired. So if you know any returning NZ expats or potential migrants heading to Auckland next year here’s a link to a Facebook page I've created about the house. Our new apartment is supposed to be ready August 2024. More of that another time. Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE
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Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
BOOK SERIES NEWSDid you know there is an audio version of Being a Distance Grandparent narrated by me? What’s more it’s a (distance) family affair. My Chicago based broadcaster son, Robbie narrated the Foreword written by Professor Loretta Baldassar. Loretta is a global expert scholar on the subject of families caring from a distance and I was honoured to have her support the book project.
ON THE HOME FRONT,1st of September is the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The end of our garden along the fence line loses the sun all winter but come the start of Spring sunshine filters through warming the soil and alerting the hydrangeas to wake up and get ready to display a spectacular Summer show. On the subject of growing our U.S. daughter-in-law is proudly showing the world a lovely baby bump. We look forward to cradling our new grandson next January. A recent office acquisition is a stand up desk. Years of sitting at a desk for university study and writing books has *** my body a bit. I am expecting great things from this new installation! Finally, we’re off shortly for a week’s sun in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It a 3+ hour flight away across the Pacific Ocean. We cross the Dateline and arrive the day before! Last time we went in January 2022 we flew in on Day 2 after the island reopened after the pandemic. It was also the same day of the Tongan volcano explosion. The Guardian quoted that the volcano released 1000 times more energy than the Hiroshima bomb. It was a tad disconcerting as our accommodation was on the beach. Anyway, we survived that. Then a couple of days later a cyclone arrived. We had to stay indoors for 24-48 hours to avoid flying coconuts and flooded roads. Crossing our fingers this time for calm, warm weather and a few days of blissful RnR. Maybe we'll see chickens at the airport again! Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
Reducing the risk of an accident and ending up in a hospital is a top priority. However, an impending grandson arrival in December is changing those plans. What a nice problem... we’ll need to be super careful. So what are distance families left with? Perhaps just April & May and September to November depending on where you’re travelling to. Extreme weather definitely affects Distance Families connections. BOOK SERIES NEWS
ON THE HOME FRONTYou may know one of my interests is singing in a local community choir. It’s a non-audition choir so it's not at the high brow end. The pandemic put a stop to most choir activity and once we re-grouped it took a bit of time to get back in the groove. Finally after a 4 year hiatus we’ve recently performed twice. Below is a photo of us enjoying a stand ovation. I have never had one of those before! I am far right at the front by the pillar. Here's a link to that performanceat this beautiful city church. And a few weeks later we participated in an Auckland-wide cultural choral event in a stunning cathedral. Enjoy. New Zealand and Australia are currently jointly hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It is a big deal. Last night I attended the USA v Portugal match at the normally rugby-famous Eden Park. What a night! The largest NZ crowd ever for a women's sporting event - 42,958 of us. We'd been allocated seats three rows back from the field. The medics were right in front of us and we were surrounded by costume wearing, flag and banner carrying American and Portuguese fans. I am sure I ended up in the background on a telecast somewhere in the world as passionate fans were interviewed and filmed nearby. And be assured, listening to their accents there were many kiwis amongst them supporting the visitors. Up behind us was a huge crowd of flag waving, Portuguese fans including a drummer who played the entire time. To my American friends commiserations - you didn't expect a 0-0 draw. But be sure, the huge American supporter crowd did you proud. To my Portuguese friends - well done. Your reserves were warming up just a few metres from us - so nimble and fast and their team spirit was obvious. You can be very proud of their performance. Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWSAre you an expat or immigrant in New Zealand or Australia or considering moving to one or the other country? Here are two excellent blogs I’d recommend your following. They are both packed with super useful information. Australia New Zealand Separately, if you’re parenting in International School circles this blog is a goodie.
The session will be recorded. Register in advance here to join us live or later receive a link to the recording. BOOK SERIES NEWS
Bi-lingual and multilingual wordsmiths - I need your help please. I want to expand my list of non-English words that are strongly connected to families and relationships - words that don't have an exact English translation. e.g. the Danish hygge (sense of content cosiness) or Welsh hierith (deep, yearning homesickness). Are you able to add to my list? I plan to feature these words in Being a Distance Grandchild. Please send me a message if you can help. Thanks HE ON THE HOME FRONT
Lastly, we travelled to Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand during June and experienced some stunning scenery. Here are the promised photos. Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
Initially, it’s a novelty for all generations, including those at 'home'. But in no time, continuous moves become the norm and there’s a certain ‘here we go again’ that comes into play for everyone. With each move, Distance Sons and Daughters and their children get better at saying their goodbyes, transitioning, making new friends and adjusting to the new culture. But there is also grief, trepidation, uncertainty and upheaval. It can be tough on the parents and tough on the children. BOOK SERIES NEWSI had two delightful discoveries in May...
City Special Collections’ – but what is the CCSP I’d often asked myself. Time to find out. When a helpful librarian enquired if he could assist, I asked for directions to the special collection. He asked why I wanted to know. I explained I was an author and my books featured there. Well, he was so impressed. The CCSC is an appointment-only Reading Room and Research Centre open Monday to Saturday he explained. “Your books feature in the collection because of their cultural significance – congratulations to you”. Thank you Auckland Libraries - you made my day! (Photo: Auckland Council Libraries website) ON THE HOME FRONT
Europe and stay with family in the UK for several weeks over November to January. Due to our generally mild temperatures we don’t own the gear we need for this geographical adventure - so we’ve been shopping! We can't leave that task to later in the year as stores will be filled with summer gear then. To test our new threads and for a change of scene hubby and I have decided to visit Christchurch (further south and colder) for a few days later in June. I hope to share some stunning winter snaps in the next newsletter especially from when we venture across the Southern Alps on the TranzAlpine Train Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
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ON THE HOME FRONT
Back in NZ our U.K.-gap-year-visiting grandson returned north to us after working in our tourist capital, Queenstown. We had a mini break together near the beach last week and the countdown begins for his return to the U.K. later in the month. It will feel strange knowing he's back on the other side of the world again. Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWSGreetings. Here are a couple of articles that really impressed me this month.
Eda's NPR article, titled Not even water? And other things not to say to your Muslim friends during Ramadan is an excellent read. Another impactful article is written by Ashally De La Cruz on the subject of retaining and losing languages I was moved by the line, "[...] sometimes, I need to use Google Translate just to have a conversation with my mom." As Ashally says, “Learning a new language is hard. So is keeping an old one.” BOOK SERIES NEWS
ON THE HOME FRONTMarch has been the month of the Three F’s
Last year I froze some flesh for our visiting children to enjoy at Christmas. I even admit to once taking some frozen/thawing pulp on a plane when visiting a child overseas… a taste of home. Mad I know! This month our house has been wrapped in scaffolding. Lots of clanging and banging. Painters have spruced up the outside and we’ve taken the opportunity to fix a few other bits n pieces while the scaffolding was still in place.
Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
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ON THE HOME FRONT
Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the monthly newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWSThere are a couple of events coming up that might be of interest. On Tuesday 14 February I will be speaking at the Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa, North Auckland. If you know any expats, migrants or distance grandparents in the Hibiscus Coast area do let them know. Also, my books are now available at centre’s Weka Gift Shop and closer to home, the Hobsonville Optometrist Glasses & Gifts. The following week on Wednesday 22 February I will be facilitating an author chat with a fascinating lady, Joyce Agee who wrote The Newcomers Dictionary. Anyone, from anywhere can plug into this online event – no charge and you don’t need to be a member of FIGT. All you need to do is register in advance so the Zoom link can be sent to you. It is recorded and those who register later receive a recording link if the time zone doesn’t work for you. For full details of both events please click here. Looking for some interesting reading? Here are a couple of articles I have shared online that have been well received. There are plenty of more here. Language Matters: Figurative expressions abound in anyone’s language Even if distance families share the same language they still need to be ‘on their toes’ as figures of speech vary from country to country. The parents are your most important partners when it comes to connecting with your long distance grandchildren “In an age when parents are constantly barraged with messages on social media that they are not enough, not doing enough with their children and reminded often they could be doing more or being more – you have such a unique opportunity to let your grandchildren’s parents know they are indeed enough – and not only that, but that they are doing an amazing job." Kerry Bryne, Ph.D. BOOK SERIES NEWS
ON THE HOME FRONT
Take care until next time
Helen Ellis P.S. Not registered to receive this monthly newsletter? You may register on the right of this page. Thanks for your support. HE Welcome to the monthly newsletter from Distance Families DISTANCE FAMILIES NEWS
As we pick up our lives navigating a new version of normal the previous rhythm of catch up visits will resume, albeit with rejigged attitudes and priorities. We will never again, take for granted, the ability to fly around the world and physically connect with families. It’s a luxury to be forever grateful for. Photo credit: "A line in the sand" by Sushicam is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. BOOK SERIES NEWS
ON THE HOME FRONT
That’s a wrap. My most important priority on this trip was for the boys to ‘fall in love with New Zealand’ (which included consuming something in the range of 60+ fruit mince pies per kid…). Take care until next time
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