These last few weeks have been all about family. I grew up in a household of six children (I’m number five). Only four of us currently live in New Zealand and this Christmas and New Year period was the first time we’ve all been together in the same country in five years.
My sister was visiting from Norfolk Island. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a tiny rock located in the middle of the South Pacific, approximately halfway between Australia and New Zealand. A former British prison colony, it’s a fascinating place with a colourful history and well worth a visit if you ever get the opportunity.
My youngest brother was over from the UK. He’s one of many whose return to Aotearoa was delayed by the COVID pandemic and it was wonderful to spend some time with him and his family after their extended hiatus. He has two lovely daughters who are of a similar age to our twin boys. Their shared love of swimming, trampolines and video games saw the four of them bond remarkably well and it was a joy to watch them play. One particularly entertaining activity they devised was to view episodes of Teen Titans Go! (if you don’t know it, it’s a cartoon about five superheroes who live together in a T-shaped tower) and then head outside to re-enact them, complete with dialogue and musical numbers.
Like many (all?) families, the Reynolds clan is a dysfunctionally functional one, encompassing a wide range of ideological stances, which means that discussions of politics and religion are generally best avoided. We’re not as young as we once were and the conversational topic du jour seemed to be our respective medical conditions. Still, I like to think that, like fine wines, at least our inner qualities have improved with age. As a sign of this maturity, I finally apologised to my youngest brother for the merciless bullying I subjected him to as we were growing up (to be fair, I was only mimicking the punishment that my older brothers bestowed upon me) and while we laughed it off, I think deep down he genuinely appreciated the gesture.
I drove him and his family to the airport yesterday day for their return flight to the UK. We’re hoping it won’t be another five years until we see each other in person again, but if it is, at least we’ll have lots to talk about. By that time, our list of medical conditions will be pages long.
Did you catch up with any long-lost loved ones over the holiday season? Let me know in the comments.
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