I’m biased. Biased towards the people of my home-town, Te Kuiti.
You see, we’ve grown elite international athletes, artists, musicians, writers, dancers, engineers and orators to name a few. We are rule-breakers, risk-takers and dream-chasers.
But I want to add one more description to that list. Resilient.
Glancing through the Herald on the weekend, I came across some familiar ex Te Kuiti faces; Matt and Maree Iremonger, and their children Harry and Charlie. They were part of a series the Herald is running on the financial impact of Covid.
Matt was an international pilot pre covid. Finding himself grounded and on leave without pay until further notice, he had to get a job. Initially stacking museli bars in the Profile Foods factory, he then gained a position as a part-time caretaker of his youngest son’s school. He now works installing milk vat monitors on farms.
Maree is a kindy relief teacher, with work also dropping-off due to parents keeping their children home.
With a mortgage and family, they needed to pivot quickly. But this wasn’t just about what they had to do. It was a learning opportunity for their sons also.
“Iremonger, 45, says the loss of his income was a steep learning curve for Jack. “All of a sudden it was all gone. I was earning less than him per hour for a while. I think it’s been a big wakeup call for him”.
There is definitely no ego there!
Wanting their sons to understand the importance of being adaptable and resilient, they communicated openly about what was happening, including how they were budgeting.
We all have a choice on how we want to show up when we get knocked-back.
- What is the message we want to communicate through our actions; particularly to our children?
- How are you showing up?
Reference: Jane Phare, (2020, August 21st) Scarred by Covid’s impact. New Zealand Herald, pp. A23 & A23
