Goodbye Grandma Towns

Last Wednesday, I got the phone call that my grandmother had passed away peacefully in her sleep.  It was expected, she had been heading towards heaven for the last year now, but all those years of long brisk walks and swimming daily in the ocean kept her body strong.  Still, she is the first of our 4 grandmothers to leave us, and it was with sadness we say goodbye.  

My grandma was pretty amazing - check out this fantastic photo of her and her husband Peter in their younger days! i love her bathing suit and his beret! She was a very strong woman, surviving hard times during the depression while bringing up her 5 children and soldiering on after her husband died at just 58 years old (I was 2 when Granddad died).

An artist, she had her work in many exhibitions but mainly just loved to paint.  People, landscapes, nudes - I will never be able to imagine grandma without seeing her walls crammed with painting after painting. She loved her family too - and was super proud of the fact she has 18 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren (with 2 more on the way and probably lots more to come)!   We used to get a family subscription to the National Geographic each year as our gift from Grandma, she kept giving even though the family just got larger and larger.  

We were a lot alike in some ways - we both love family, and we both love to talk and tell stories.  Mum and dad told me they used to sit me opposite grandma when we visited with her and then just sit back and watch (and giggle) as we both got frustrated as we tried to finish our stories with constant interruptions from each other! We wrote letters to each other when I was younger because she lived too far away to see a lot of.  I loved getting my mail from grandma in the letterbox, she always wrote and told me what she had been up to and shared all the family news.  You can see that we even share some looks in this photo taken at Christmas in 1994 (I was 13)- it is uncanny! 

When we visited Grandma as kids, it was good fun.  She lived in Leigh, a beach community up north from Auckland.  She had a real bach feeling to her home, with a huge deck upstairs, her artwork everywhere, homemade meusli toasting in the oven and the best bit for us kids - the downstairs bunk rooms to play pirates in!  We always went to the beach with her, she swam for miles daily even in the cooler weather when I wouldn't get in past my ankles!  I am just so glad that we got to introduce her to Luke after he was born.  This is the last photo we have with Grandma, it was taken boxing day 2011.  She loved holding Luke and cuddling the girls, commenting on how beautiful they were. 

 I asked Marty if we could all go up to the funeral.  I could have flown up, it would have been a lot cheaper for us, but I really craved Marty and the kids around me at this time for support, and I had already left them behind long enough.  They needed some time with their own grandparents, who they adore but don't see that often.  So off we went early Sunday morning for the long 6 hour trip up to West Auckland.  Luckily, our kids travel really well, and we cruised it up, listening to music together and enjoying McDonalds for breakfast in Taupo - what a treat for the kids! 

In Auckland, we settled into our motel and had Poppa and Oma over for a coffee in the sun as they watched the kids play in the motel playground.  Luke called Poppa "Doppa" with great delight the whole time we were there and the girls were excited about helping Poppa feed their birds in their walk in aviery.  It was a treat to be shouted out that night for dinner by Poppa and Oma as we celebrated their birthdays (which are a week apart) with the family too that night.  This is what Auckland is all about for us - lots of family time and fun together :)  We finished the day with a spa in the motel spa pool.  Jaimee kept saying "This is the best ever.  I can't believe I am in a MOTEL.  This is so cool".  They loved the spa, Luke screamed blue murder when our half hour was up.  

Speaking of fun together, Poppa joined us for a zoo trip on Monday morning.  Whenever we go to Auckland, we like to do something 'touristy and fun' - Auckland has so much to offer, and I do miss the fun kids attractions I grew up with  now that I am living in Hawkes Bay.  The zoo is always a huge hit with all ages, so it was back there to see the Lions, Monkeys and Elephant. 

After the zoo, we headed back to the motel for a quick rest, and letting Luke finish his nap (he fell asleep minutes after leaving the zoo after missing a nap the day before!).   Then we decided it might be fun to go to Parakai Thermal pools, which I grew up going to but Marty had never been to.   The slides there are heaps of fun - 2 long enclosed winding water slides that you slide down on sitting on foam mats.  I have lots of memories of running up the windy cold wooden staircase to the top of the slides, freezing cold but worth it to get to the hot water slide at the top. School had gone back that day, so we had the entire hot pool complex to ourselves (ok, ok -  there were about 10 people there!) and noone was on the slides, perfect for us.  We took all the kids down and they LOVED it.  Luke kept pointing to his chest and saying "Luke, more slide".  Jaimee begged to be able to go on her own mat "again, again, again", jumping up and down with the joy of it.  Even Kate had a go all by herself down the slower slide.  I made them take a break when poor Luke started shaking with the cold air on the walk back up to the top and we hit the indoor huge hot pool for warming up.  Pretty much a giant spa pool, my kids didn't want to leave.  They had no interest in the outdoor lukewarm pool, they just wanted to soak for hours on the steps of the hot pool.  Fine by us! When we finally left for bedtime (Luke screaming blue murder at being pulled from the water), we were all relaxed and the kids crashed out. Until midnight, when Luke woke us with a terrible case of croup.  Marty rushed him out the door in search of a medical centre open, but couldn't get to one before Luke calmed himself a bit and seemed a bit better.  We had an uneasy night with Luke still crouping away and coughing, and at 9.30am we got him to the doctor for some steroids.  Thankfully they kicked in before the funeral that afternoon.  

The funeral was a real intimate family affair.  Well, as intimate as the large Towns family can be when we gather together!!!  It was so special to catch up with my Aunties, Uncles and many of my cousins again, some of whom I haven't seen in many many years.    I love this photo of us all gathered outside, smiling despite saying goodbye to the very much loved Matriach of our family dynasty.  The artistic talent runs strong in Grandma's legacy, with painters, scultors, photographers, designers, musicians and singers in the family.  Now where was my portian Grandma?  Oh, that's right - I get the story teller thing.  The family tree keeper.  The filer of memories and photos and names.  Well, I will try and do that well.  As we keep growing, I will do my best to keep the Towns family legacy alive.  We are a pretty cool bunch, if I say so myself... 

With Poppa & Oma, and my (NZ) siblings: Josh, Steph and Danielle