Anna – Bayswater.
“Proud? I feel proud every day. Proud of my family, my husband, my children.
I think I’m a proud person. Alright, I grew up in Germany. I’m German. I immigrated to New Zealand 17 years ago and I am bilingual, German-English. My mother is a Kiwi. I have two children. So first and foremost I’m a mother, and I work part time for a text start-up company, which I am also very proud of, because we’re a start-up and it’s a tough world for start-ups, and we’re doing really well.
I choose to live in New Zealand over Germany. I love Germany but you can’t really beat the beach and being able to own your own home. I love to read. I think books are the best thing there is. So it’s fitting that we’re sitting outside the library.
I love my family. That’s how I am. My family, books, the beach. I don’t think you can prepare to become a mum. I think you kind of just get thrown in at the deep end. There’s never a right time. I didn’t prepare. I looked at my mother. I looked at my sister. I looked at my mother-in-law, my sisters-in-law. They’re all fantastic role models, and just kind of did my best.
You have to be a good role model, I think that’s most important. I think being a good role model and showing them with your partner, with your friends, and with them, how you should treat each other. Then, if they do something that’s possibly not the right thing talk to them about why it’s not good, or if you see something that’s not good, explain to them why. I’ve got very young children. They’re only three and one and a half, but even at that age they’re a lot smarter than what you think and you can have discussions with them about it if you see something that’s not right, you talk to them about it.
I read to them. There’s so much knowledge in books and they love it. I suppose we live such busy lives, I try to take time out to chat with people at the supermarket or the check-out.
What would I do differently today? Take time for people, maybe to learn more about people, about those people who are around us and why they’re here maybe? Take time. I think time’s always a pressing issue. I’m always rushing. So taking the time to get to know people might be something, I guess. My husband is an amazing father, and an amazing husband, and he takes, I mean it sounds possibly kind of sexist, but he takes great care of us. I only work part time, and he works his butt off to provide for us, and he’s an amazing dad. He says I love you to his children every single day, and it makes me proud.
It makes me proud that I was lucky enough to meet someone who loves not only me and his kids, but he loves his parents and his sisters and he just makes me proud the way he goes about his business and his stressful life, and I’m proud of my children because I think they’re amazing little human beings and they just make me proud every day, and my family.
My parents have been married for 45 years. That’s pretty cool. My siblings are all doing really well all over the world, and I’m just proud that I get to be part of that family.”
