little brother

My brother Sean and our family from Australia ...


I understand how my kids love their little brother. I could just fall into these big deep brown eyes and be lost forever. My sweet sweet baby.


This is my little brother. He is eight years my junior which when we are both in our thirties isn't that big a difference. He was my baby once. My mum was a single mother and I shared the responsibility of looking after my two little brothers when we were younger.

I really love them deeply and feel my heart expand when they are around. It's tough living in different countries. I have no desire to be a foreigner. I am tangata whenua, I belong here but I do miss my family often. We are standing at the north end of Titahi Bay.

And this is my lovely sister-in-law Marnie. I'm not kidding, she's really special. She's warm, loving, thoughtful, sensitive and kind. Can't you tell. She's really like that photo. I'm so glad my little brother married an amazing woman. This is my nephew Matthew who I met for the first time. He's too cute. The fairest little Maori kid I know.
Cheryl, Marnie's mum, Marnie and I went to Martha's Pantry, a new tea house at the top of Cuba Street for high tea. I had a Devonshire tea with scones, cream, jam and a pot of Earl Grey. We drank from fine china and Knuckles sat in a vintage high chair playing with the iconic wooden bumble bee toy and banging Cheryls gold bracelet.

Back in P-town things were rugged. The wind was blowing and the air had a bite to it. The ocean was churning its guts and the sky was bright blue. A great day for surfing and sightseeing.

I'm glad my family is here. We have Rich's youngest brother living with us at the moment too. Our hearts overfloweth.