This is the first guest post on this site and very appropriately, it is by my mum Anne.

Mothers are often the greatest inspiration in their daughter’s life. My mum is no different except that she inspires me on so many levels above and beyond being a very special parent: as a wife, daughter, sister, teacher and friend.

Calm in all things, generous to everyone and perfectly content in her skin, each day I become more aware of how lucky my sisters and I were to be gifted with such a mum.

Having also been a positive influence in the lives of countless school children, my mum retired from primary teaching earlier this year.

She is finding her feet in this world beyond serving others and as she looks to the horizon (the picture above is an artist’s impression of the view from our family home), she shares these words with us….

Simone always says that when one door closes, another opens.

It was very difficult at first, but as I look back over the first three months of retirement I am able to examine my daily round and find golden moments embedded in the days gone by.

Highlights have included:

• Watching two baby magpies fledge from their nest in the pine tree on the median strip in front of our home. Their plaintive cries have led to us rescuing one from our pool, watching them waddle onto the road following the adult birds and exulting in their new found flying skills;
• Knitting a T-shirt for my six-year-old grandson’s stuffed monkey. He thinks sewing a few stitches is knitting, so I’ve been able to avoid digging out my knitting needles;
• Driving my car towards a perfectly formed rainbow which traveled in front of me all of the way into the city;
• Walking the four kilometers’ round trip with my husband, who is recovering from a knee replacement; walking down to the beach, along the boardwalk and back takes us about forty minutes;
• A snake slithered out of the sand dunes towards our house until, deterred by dive bombing wattle birds, he headed back as quickly as he came;
• My irascible, aged mother has been in and out of hospital and the wonderful nursing staff continue to willingly care for her, and
• Finally, for several nights in a row, no matter how late the hour I went to the sink by the window overlooking the trees, a bird would sing to me. I experimented to see if he thought the light was the morning sun, but it did not influence his song if it was already off or on. I had an image of my window being his goldfish bowl and I the pet swimming within.

He has gone away lately, but for a few nights he brought cheerfulness to my life.

I look forward to the next new visitor to my window.

As we move inexorably towards another Christmas period with all of the implications of family and togetherness, I send you greetings.

Anne Martin