This year's the year to start drying a few more dishes, especially at the marae.
It's the start of a new year and, while it's not Matariki, it does give reason to pause and contemplate what you're hoping to achieve in the months ahead.
I'm not one for resolutions. I've never kept the ones I've made in the past - get fit, eat healthier, be
more organised. But this year I have a couple of goals I would like to achieve.
Firstly, I would like to start learning te reo Maori again. I was born in Rotorua but raised in Australia so, while I'm fluent in "ockerisms", te reo is very much a second language to me. I've completed a few a papers during my time at university in Auckland and have done a couple of evening courses since, but life and work has put it on the backburner over the past few years. So for me, it's time to jump on that waka again and, whether it's formal learning or just a few new words or phrases a day, it's something I'm keen to get back into.
Secondly, I need to pick up a tea towel more often. More specifically, at my marae. I have an aunty and she is the epitome of manaakitanga. She is at every tangi in some capacity at Tunohopu - usually running the back. I have seen her on day three, after the hakari and clean up, hobbling and exhausted. She does this without complaint and will/has roused herself the next day when she gets the call that someone has passed. My aunty does this because she loves her marae, her hapu, iwi and and the importance of upholding our mana. She has recently turned 60 and I know she won't be around forever. I know that the next generation needs to come through and take over. So this year I want to tautoko her more, regardless of whether I know who has passed away or not - usually I don't - but to show more manaaki and to do my part on keeping our home fires burning. Even if it is just drying a few dishes. Nga mihinui ki te tau hau ki a koutou.
