Birthday
We celebrated Genevieve’s birthday yesterday. She actually turned 30 on Tuesday and had a small afternoon tea with me and three of her friends.
Yesterday was a family occasion, and Genevieve had gone all-out preparing a banquet-style meal for both us and more of her friends. She cooked a lamb roast, chicken halves and beef spare ribs to perfection, complementing these with salads, a beautifully prepared platter and some small rice savouries she’d baked earlier. Topping off the meal was a specially ordered cake made from a local woman. There were orange and lemon drinks along with alcohol.
We have to remember Genevieve is French. She has managed to master our roast meals to perfection, combining these new skills with those from her homeland.
Genevieve first came to this country with Daniel 10 years ago and the pair skipped back and forth between the two countries and further afield when Daniel was shearing. They were in France when Daniel was killed. I feel so blessed that Genevieve has chosen to spend two years back in New Zealand, along with her now six-year-old daughter, Willow. After the tragedy of losing Daniel, we could easily have lost Willow and Genevieve. Instead, this beautiful young woman has chosen to keep our family in her and her daughter’s lives. I feel so blessed that she kept in touch when she was back in France, sending loads of photos, and taking the time for frequent Messenger chats. And now she is back with us and has been for the past year.
Genevieve is a person who makes lots of friends, yet she still includes our family in her important occasions. It is lovely that Willow knows her aunts and uncles on both sides of her family, and has become proficient with the English language. Initially I feared I might never be able to communicate with this girl, but with her learning English, and speaking it well, that won’t ever be a problem.
I know Genevieve will move on, with plans already made for the start of 2024 in the Philippines, but it is about enjoying the time we do have together.
From a spiritual point of view, I used to wonder at all the loss that Willow has been through. She was only 14 months when her father died. She forms relationships with both sets of grandparents, then is separated from one lot when with the other but now I see myself and the other grandparents as this little girl’s anchors. We are the stability in her life. When she leaves us for France, she knows we will be there on her return and vice-versa. She is experiencing so much more than other children of her age. Life has become one great adventure, with a beautiful mother guiding her through this.
I am so thankful that it was this lady that Daniel chose. Even when they first met, she was happy to visit the grandmothers who were both still alive at the time. As one of the aunties pointed out, it is not many 20-year-olds who are happy to sit with their partner’s 90 plus-year-old grandmothers, yet Genevieve was.
Life has mysterious ways of turning out sometimes. What started out as such a tragedy for our family has become a lovely blessing. We may have lost a son, but we have gained a beautiful woman who is as close as any daughter and we have part of our son who will always live on in Willow. To all of this, I am so grateful.