“If I could do it all again, I would be an artist. I would create things of beauty in all the colours of the oceans, skies and forests.”

“The lesson made me think twice about lighting my candle as it prompted me to think about whether I had 4-5 hours runway to let the candle do its thing. It really does provide me with a whole new perspective about candles. Maybe you were already aware of this benefit of candles, but it’s a completely new discovery for me.”

“I’ve probably said that number more than any other number throughout my life as it’s the number of tamariki I have. And whilst I love them all equally, I also love them differently. Let me explain….”

“There were also times when I felt like I was definitely missing out! I really missed that glass of champas whilst getting ready to go out, and the first couple of rounds with whānau and friends. I missed having a bottle next to me unwinding on the couch. I also missed visiting my favourite aisles in the supermarket. I swear those bottles with their cute little labels were calling out to me “hey girl, you know you miss us”.

Check out Part 2 of my blog Fill my cup ‘til its overflowing - a new vibe

“With good times and great memories. A decade full of tiddly fun. And why not? I was pretty much sober during my twenties raising our babies. My thirties were all about reclaiming myself, and it was great. No regrets! 

Well.... there were a couple of times when I went a little overboard…”

“The fact that I can still to this day remember how I felt in that moment strikes me as profound. This was almost two years ago. In that moment, I knew the intention behind the pātai. The uncomfortable feeling I had was because I wasn’t sure I was qualified enough to answer it. Like taihoa, am I Māori enough to answer your pātai? And anyway, what are we doing here? Why are we questioning and sharing perspectives on how Māori someone is.”