Songs In Blue

Some of you got to witness the joy that is my Mother on my last post.  There once was a time where we did not get along.  AT ALL.  I know this happens with most teenage girls and their Mothers’ but our relationship was particularly bad.
 
She thought I was too much like my father, and while that may have been the case (I’ve always been a Daddy’s girl) I think the reality was that her and I were EXACTLY the same – stubborn, loud, fierce, independent, opinionated, and unwavering.
The constant power struggle worsened with my parents’ divorce, during which I was given a lot of responsibility and had to grow up fast.  One phrase echoed through my teenage years, “I’m the parent. You’re the child.”
 
My Mom also scared the livin’ bejeezus out of me.  I realize now that this was a very good thing because it stopped me from doing anything bad.  I knew she would catch me and had no desire to find out the consequences. 
The ONE TIME I decided to be all badass was when I was 17.  I got one of my older friends to buy me ciders (like I said, badass) and I proceeded to drink half…of one. 
That’s it. 
I hid the rest (don’t know why I didn’t just throw them out) for about a month in my room then brought them along to a house I was looking after so my abovementioned friend could drink them.
Before he had the chance, I came home from work to find Mom sitting on the couch, ciders in hand.  Pretty sure my heart stopped at that moment.
 
Our relationship started to get better after I graduated, and now she’s one of my favourite people in the world.  We talk every week at length (something I never thought would be possible).  She listens and gives good advice.  She’s hilarious, proven by her comments on my last post and her emails.  This one is still my favourite:

Above all that, she’s crazy (in a good way).  And I love her.

I usually call home every week or 2 to check in with the fam.  It would be a little less frequent if people (Mom) were more helpful with their replies to my emails.
Case in point, Mom’s response when I asked for her curry rice recipe:

At least she’s always good for a laugh.

Anyway, talking to my sister on the phone is like pulling teeth.
I’ll ask her what’s new, she’ll say “nothing”.
I’ll ask her how school’s going, she’ll say “good”.
Then I’ll ask if there’s anything she wants to talk about, she says “no”, so I ask to talk to mom.

Everyone else I talk to back home goes on and on about how much she misses me! In my mind, if you miss someone, you talk to them every chance you get.

But Courtney has always been an ‘actions speak louder than words’ kind of person and proved it again today.

This morning I got another oh-so-informative email from Mom saying that Courtney had done a portrait of me (it’s like 2 feet high!) for Art and it was featured in the school foyer.  Of course, I had to see it so Courtney emailed a picture.
She’s so sweet, I may or may not have cried.

I miss you too, Courtney.**
**Although, I won’t show it in the form of artwork since 5-year olds are more artisically inclined than I am and whatever I managed to create would probably just be insulting.

Only one week of NaBloPoMo left…thank God.  It hasn’t been too bad and I’ll probably keep updating often, but every day is a bit much for me.  Plus, I don’t want to bore everyone to death with these posts I come up with.  Next year, I’ll prepare a bit better!

It’s been almost three months since I arrived in NZ.  I can’t believe it’s been that long, but at the same time it feels like I’ve been here forever!  I’m starting to get a little homesick now, especially with the holidays coming up but I’m not going to lie, I love living here.  I was so worried before I left that things would back fire, or I wouldn’t like it here…obviously it was a big decision to make, and I didn’t take it lightly.  But no matter how much sleep I lost, I always knew that I was doing the right thing…and it paid off.  Of course I miss my family and friends, but with the internet and everything it’s so easy to stay in touch that it barely feels like I’m living in another country.

The truth is, I never had a reason to doubt…everything is better that I could’ve expected it.  I don’t want to be cheesy here, there’s obviously annoyances that come with work and life in general, but I’ve honestly never been happier.