inspirational Dianne, my mother

my mother was, and still is, such an inspiration for me, more so even now, when i reflect on her life. so on her birthday today, october 20th, four months since she sparkled her way out of this realm, i feel to share a few photos, and some words, which are but a teeny snippet of her vibrantly happy spirit, which touched many a heart and soul across the world throughout her gracefully rich, and full life 💖

and here she is (on the left) in 1960s auckland with her sister Yvonne and her little niece Lisa in the carry case ! funnily enough this picture was featured in the new zealand herald....what cuties 💛

having met my father Jim in 1968, in her early twenties in auckland, new zealand, they soon voyaged overseas starting in australia

and from there they traveled and lived all over the world, in far away places, eventually with a young family in tow. here they are in the europe around 1970, with their new home on wheels ~ curiously just like Giulio and i are now with our motorhome lifestyle :)

smiles and graceful elegance always was my mother !

from australia, to london, to birthing me in a muslim, arab country such as oman, in the mid 1970s (i was the second foreign baby born there….which is a story unto itself - my dad was nearly not allowed in to see me being born !)

here we are together (my sister Nicole too!) on the beach in muscat, oman, 1978

to playschool in kuwait, to dubai and abu dhabi, in the late 1970s, she was the gentlest, most thoughtful of mothers

to pakistan...always smiling

to Jakarta, indonesia and eventually tashkent, uzbekistan, with a couple of stints in new zealand in between. to keep us little ones ‘kiwi’ somehow (here i am, proudly wearing a singlet of the kiwi team from the scottish highland gathering in jakarta)

her life, and ours, were consequently full of all the colours, sights, smells, people and curiosities of the world, and most of the time, although Nicole and I loved the travelling, many times we wished we could be ‘normal’ and live back 'home' in new zealand.

she held us close with her Love always, supporting our every endeavour, always waving and cheering alongside us

and of course she LOVED to dance too, just like nicole and I ! she was always my biggest fan on the dance floor when she had the rare chance to come listen to me play my records. I often play music and imagine her there enjoying house music, as I know she would be ! 😊 💃🏻

and for other friends of ours, and local children too, who maybe didn’t have the motherly love she embraced, and embodied so beautifully; nicole and I were of course more than happy to share her boundless Love !

…an animal lover of course…

aside from being an incredibly brave, and strong traveling mother to us, she was an expatriate wife in many third world countries, which was not always easy ~ truly looking back now, she was a woman of exquisite wonder ! she smiled and took everything in her stride wherever in the world she was. i just adore this picture of her 💛

it’s incredible how she found the time to dive into countless endeavours, as well as part time working here and there ~ organising fundraising balls, and bazaars, and expeditions through indonesia, india, and china

...volunteering many hours at orphanages in jakarta and tashkent for abandoned, handicapped children; spending time living with, and learning from the dani tribe in irian jaya;

and then of course drawing on her musical youth of singing on the radio and playing piano, she began dancing and performing in many shows again in her thirties and forties !

and when back on new zealand soil, in her mid 40s she competed nationally by sprinting and jumping in masters’ athletics competitions (pictured here with her friend Lorraine); but in fact it was no surprise as she was always active, whether it be skiing, tennis, becoming a black belt at fifty or jumping out of planes at sixty !

so as one can imagine, her expatriate life with my father that began in the late sixties collected many a crazy story along the way. and so in her later years, we encouraged her to pen them down. sadly though, as the toxicity of the numerous heavy metals influenced her memory, and her mental and emotional state, writing became a challenge, and very few of her stories were penned. I do recall many of them however, as does nicole I’m sure, and my father too of course, so let’s see if one day (between all of my varied activities too!) I can write and share them for her 📝

and so here i am now four months on, celebrating her on the day of her birth 76 years gone by; cherishing her as one fabulous mother, emanating such a beautiful energy, and forever grateful that she was in my life for so long...the 'mother' apple tree 🍎 we planted with her ashes beneath, blossoms 🌸 with her Love, and i garden in magical nature beside her every day 🌱 what a little sweetheart Dianne, thank you for being YOU, you were truly one amazing gal and your energy inspires us more every day 💫