I'm having an affair.

I’m having a love affair. I’ve tried to deny it, to hide it, to pretend that it’s not becoming an obsession and that I could stop, if I wanted to, but it’s time to get real.

I’m having a love affair. With Walking. I’m cheating on writing and on lunch breaks and even on my beloved gym, just so I can spend time with Walking. I’m finding time to sneak away with Walking, time where I thought there was none before. One of my trysts with Walking nearly even made me late for work, and I don’t think Walking is a good enough excuse for tardiness. Worse still, I’m not even sorry that Walking is beginning to take over the small corners of my life.

Okay, I’m being ridiculous. Or am I? For those who have had the pleasure (and sheer terror) of a love affair, or the head-over-heels love-at-first-sight relationship like I found with Paul, you know that when that person comes in to your life, you not only find time to see them, you MAKE time. Things get pushed to the side or sacrificed or dropped all together. There may be late nights or feverish lunch breaks where you race against time. You make excuses. I’m doing this with walking, and it feels glorious!

The idea of having a love affair with something, not someone, isn’t new, and I’m not talking about an addiction here. I read about it in Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. She urges her readers to have love affairs with their art, their passions, or their creative outlets. I’m paraphrasing here, but I’m pretty sure she told me, through her book, to hide in an alleyway and write as much as I could before someone caught me. There is excitement there, and pure, (un)adulterated joy. And maybe even a sense of release in spite of it all. Because this is what creating and expression and passion is all about, isn’t it?

So of course, Writing is my passion. Except she is a very high maintenance lover. She’s so fickle and temperamental; much like me really, ha ha! And so I book time for Writing. I invite inspiration in to get Writing in the mood, and we always have a lovely time together.

Walking, though, Walking is a keen bean and on speed dial! Walking whispers in my ear, ‘You’ve got ten minutes until your next meeting, let’s get busy and wander around the block.’ Walking quotes The Beatles lyrics to me, things like ‘Why don’t we do it in the road?’ and ‘Won’t you come out to play?’ Walking doesn’t care how much time we spend together or how much attention I pay to it, Walking just wants to get a fix. AND! Where Writing is a pure monogamist, Walking is up for a threesome! Luckily Paul’s into that, too, so I get to share this love affair with my real life one true love!

Are you having a love affair with a thing? With running or painting or scrapbooking or singing or something as equally awesome? Do it! It’s hilarious as well as an awesome motivation. Tell people you’re busy, you’re meeting your lover. And then enjoy every minute of you precious time together.

Graduation: Hui Whakapumau

It was part of The Plan to acknowledge my graduation for the reo Māori course with a piece of writing about the day. It’s been nearly a week and I’ve been putting it off; it’s been a real struggle to think how to write about this special occasion. Do I make it like a diary entry, or in the third person, like a narrative? I thought about focusing on how I felt and spinning the day in to a poem, laced together with thin threads of whimsy and rhyme. But none of it felt right. I want everything in the plan to be purposeful and packed with meaning, and this piece of writing is no exception. I just didn’t know how to go about it.

And then I realised. It’s hard to do not because of how I write, but how I speak. How am I meant to share my experiences in English about something that is fundamentally rooted in reo Māori? Deciding to write about graduation in reo Māori gave this piece of writing purpose. What I want to say wasn’t going to change but all of a sudden, this potential piece of writing had become one of the most meaningful things I’d ever put together.

Please, you fluent speakers of reo, bear in mind that the following collection of sentences haven’t been checked by someone more knowledgeable than me; a novice, a beginner, very much still a student – quite literally. However inaccurate this is, the mistakes and intentions and effort behind these kupu are a testament to the course and what I’ve been taught, as well as a window to what I want to achieve.

Ko Ruapehu tōku maunga,
ko Whanganui tōku awa,
ko Berwick Castle tōku waka,
Ko Wagastaf tōku hapū,
No Turakina ahau.

Whakamutunga tau, ko I te ākonga o te Ara Reo Māori taumata e rua.

Last year, I was a student of te Ara Reo Māori level two.

I ako ahau ki te reo māori, kātahi i mahi ahau ki ngā kupu hou, ā muri i tērā, i ako etahi atu ahau.

I learnt te reo Māori, and then I studied the new words, and after that, I learned some more.

I tākaro ahau i ngā kēmu, i waiata ahau ki ngā waiata, me i tuhituhi ahau i ngā kōrero me ngā kupu hou.

I played games, I sang songs, and I wrote the language and new words.

I inoi ahau.

I prayed.

I tēnei ra, i paetahi ahau! Ko ataahua te hui whakapūmau. I tino hiamo ngā tauira rāua ngā kaiako tātou.

Today, I graduated! The graduation ceremony was beautiful. All the students and teachers were very excited.

Engari, i te āwangawanga ahau ki ngā hu haunene I runga I te atamira!

But I was worried about my noisy shoes on the stage!

I haere ahau I runga I te atamira me i whakakikini ahau ki a Paul. I whakarongo ahau i te waiata o Alice.

I walked on the stage and winked at Paul. I heard Alice singing.

I angitu ahau, i whakahīhī ahau, i harikoa ahau.

I felt successful, I felt proud, I felt happy.

Engari, kua mutu taku kōrero mō tēnei wā, nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

However, this is the end of my talk for now, therefore, greetings, greetings, greetings to you all.

March Review - Winning!

Planted: stevia, kale, rhubarb

Wrote:two weddings, book chapters

Discovered/ learnt/ wondered: learnt about Patupaiarehe and how to say things like ‘I’m not reading the newspaper’ in Te Reo; Kāore pānui ahau I te niupepa!

Read: ‘Te Ao Māori’ by Rāpata Wiri; ‘Seeker’ by Arwen Elys Dayton

Successes: I pretty much rocked at life this month.

Struggled with: Animals eating/digging/ playing in the garden. Bye-bye cauli, kale and carrots! And those poor tomatoes, doomed from the start.

Highlight: starting Te Ara Reo Māori 4, winning a fitbit and a stack of books and a raffle filled with goodies I’d never buy for myself, family reunion

I don’t know if you believe in good vibrations in the universe or positive energy or visualisation or karma or luck, but all the wins were mine this month. I was a walking success machine. Boom! Hahaha!

Probably the coolest thing to have happened is that I kicked ass on those Durie Hill steps. Well, in my mind I did, when comparing myself now to myself four weeks ago. Do NOT compare myself to those powerhouses that run up and down those steps over and over again! I can go up without stopping in under six minutes. AND! I can go down without stopping under seven! This is HUGE! It’s a small victory against the foe that is my lifelong fear of heights and falling.

I won a whole heap of cool stuff this month, too! A fitbit (which is awesome for your health), cereal (which is terrible for your health), ten wicked good new books, and the Easter raffle from my hair salon filled with goodies.
And then I won stuff that I actually had to work for; stepping challenges, Te Reo vocab tests, and a variety of other small but joyous moments that I worked hard for.

I don’t know about you, but I feel this month has shown me that success attracts success. I don’t know if it’s just that you’re open to opportunity or if you’re inclined to focus on ‘winning’ more because it’s at the forefront of your thinking. Maybe it truly is a cosmic, octrune-coloured force that magnetises good vibes and happy people to you, globbing the awesome together in beautiful, ever-growing puddles of positivity. Whatever it is, I’m digging it.

I mastered hoola-hooping. I walked longer, more complicated distances. I figured out that coffee was keeping me awake and have increased my average sleep per night from three to five hours. I briefly hit my goal weight before a magical, guilt-free Easter. All in all, it’s been a freakin’ sweet month.

Next month, I’m taking it fairly easy on myself, with committing to the bridge loop twice a week and doing a teaching portfolio update. The challenge will be finding the time and not letting the commitments overwhelm me. I pick up another day at work which will force me to practice time-management; something I’ve never been overly fantastic at. Regardless, I’m looking forward to what April brings me; there’s graduation, birthdays, less financial stress and the Manawatu gorge loop walk. And if this month’s successes are anything to go by, April is going to be a goodun!