Roseanna | Northcote
“I’ve definitely got to go straight to my mother. She’s a nurse, and was mainly a stay at home mum for my brother, sister and I, and she’s definitely the matriarch of the family; kind but firm. So, yeah I’d have to say, Mum.
I guess as a parent when you have your own children it gives you a whole new appreciation or deprecation of your own parents roles in your life. Certainly on my, it’s appreciation all round from me, but Mum’s kindness and it definitely gave us a firm direction in life, and I think that’s something I’d like to try and replicate with my children. She [my mother] definitely said to be happy is the most important thing, so that’s what we try to live by, and something I hope to pass on to my two.
I grew up in Auckland and we had a wonderful childhood growing up here in Mount Eden-Epsom mainly. Summer holidays up north before the Puhoi tunnel where Waiwera seemed a world away and I think growing up we’ve just had instilled a respect for our environment and a love of the ocean and just New Zealand wilderness in general, and just respect really for our natural surroundings, and again something I hope to pass on to my two growing up. We’ve been in Palmerston North the last eight years, and actually just come back to Auckland, which has been a very happy homecoming. Very different environment, but Auckland’s a great place to live.
Yeah, I think I remember having my first child and feeling absolutely miffed, because I felt that my mother and my friends hadn’t really been completely honest about how hard it can be at times. Sure there are definitely the wonderful moments, but the hard times are pretty hard, and this day and age I think it is harder to find your village, because we all live apart from family and friends in lots of cases, and you’ve got to really, wherever you’re living, you’ve really got to work hard to find that new village to help you because that’s what gets you through the really hard parts. Just being able to talk about them is the big part of it, I think. Yeah, definitely like any role model I guess, male or female. Women are between a rock and hard place, I think with the role models, because you know the two great roles, well the great role as a woman is to be a mother, and then you know, they can also do so many other great things as well. Jacinda Adern case in point and then I guess mixing those roles is where it gets a bit murky. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong answer particularly, but everyone’s comfort zone is different for those two things. I think we’re still learning about where our comfort point is but it is important to have the sort of bastions who have reached those pinnacles as not necessarily exemplary, but just to look at an be proud of those individuals, I suppose.”
