A flower farmer fable

Episode 1 – how it came to be

Once upon a time – about a decade and a half ago –

in a bustling city where life was always on the go - 

lived a woman and her hubby their happy life

with their three beautiful kids and minimum strife.

With kids in school, each with sport and play dates

- driving them up and down and around to their mates

while working full-time as a freelance translator -

life was never quiet, and it definitely didn’t cater

for this woman to one day find a big dream

that would cause such upheaval for the whole team.

This woman was content and thought life was good

even though it was hectic she did the best she could.

But one morning, with an editing job only halfway done 

and a looming deadline that was the opposite of fun,

her eye caught the ad for a farm that’s for sale

and her brain did a flip-flop – she could barely inhale…

Oh imagine the life they could have! Going back to their roots

they could be farmers with bakkies (utes) and gumboots.

No more big city smog, no traffic, no noise  -

just them, Mother Nature, their girl and their boys.

And so the hubby at work got a call from his wife

“Let’s leave our jobs, the city, this crazy life…

Let’s go be farmers, let’s make a new life ours…

Oh I have an idea, why don’t we grow flowers?”

And as soon as she said it, it got a life of its own

and there was no way she could leave it alone.

Dreams at night were all about flowers.

Dreams of what could be filled her waking hours.

She couldn’t let it go, couldn’t give it a rest -

one might even say she was a little obsessed!

So her hubby, the sweet thing, joined in the game -

took her to see this farm that ignited the flame. 

And it was pretty and perfect and … oh but wait …

It was just too dangerous, the risks far too great!

But she started searching and found plenty of farms

- all farmers that moved away from the harm -

And sweet, loving hubby took her to see every one,

but for each the dream ended before it began.

And as this went on week after week, farm after farm

the same arguments caused their relationship harm.

She wanted to move there and live her dream life;

he would not, could not risk his dear children and wife.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place -

neither could yield, could abandon their case.

Now the woman was at her wit’s end, but one thing was clear

they could lose each other – the price was too dear.

So she suggested they moved far away from here…

to a country where farms were free from this fear.

But the hubby resisted – how could they trade

the unknown for this beautiful life they had made?

Oh the woman was sad, frustrated and, I’ll admit,

she might even have tantrummed a little bit.

He was her hubby, her soulmate, her friend

but if he couldn’t do this for her, how would it end?

Episode Two – The Twist in the Tale

The end wasn’t at all what they ever envisioned.

It was a man with a gun perfectly positioned

to take hubby’s watch, his ring and his wallet

and also his car keys with their youngest still in it.

So the hubby gave up all the man asked for

but he pulled his son out through the passenger door. 

The wife got a call from her hubby distressed

“We were lucky today, we were actually blessed.

This day could have ended so badly for us,

and as for moving abroad, we have so much to discuss.”

While in three years of begging she couldn’t achieve that,

the guy with the gun did it in three minutes flat.

Oh the excitement – could it really be true?

Were they off to start a life fresh and new?

But after long days of googling, they had to admit

The world was a vast place – where would they fit?

He said not Ireland or England or Wales -

he couldn’t live with the snow, the rain and the gales.

She said – anywhere, but not Oz or that Kiwi-island -

it’s just too far away from her home and her heart-land.

But he sent her links of scenes from New Zealand 

sheep on the hills, the green of the farmland,

of alpacas and cows and horizons of blue

with little notes that said “This might be perfect for you”.

There were market gardens, beaches and quaint little towns,

and link by link he wore all her defences down.

Oh how she fell for it, how she fell in love

with that little land that she knew nothing of.

So before he could change his mind or lose his nerve

She said “Yes, let’s move to a little farm at the end of the earth.”

Episode Three – Moving Very Far Away

So they packed their belongings and their things and their stuff

and found they had to leave behind a lot that they love.

But they braved on and let go, and let go of some more

until at last they finally closed the last door.

But then the rough part, the tough part still lay ahead -

the heartache, the heartbreak of goodbyes to be said…

The mothers, the sisters, the cousins and friends -

it was almost too much to lose in the end. 

They hugged, and hugged as if they could never let go

to leave for a country where there was no-one they know.

Episode Four – The New Country

Oh how they loved it when they first set foot on the island

This could be home, could become their land

They were safe, they were happy, and they were together

They just had to adjust to the messed-up weather.

Those first few months of settling in

wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t all fun

Slowly but surely life got into a rhythm

and the woman remembered again the dream within.

So they started looking for a place that would suit

her dream of farming flowers and his daily commute.

In beautiful Puhoi they found a little land

and it seemed that it could not have been better planned – 

Puhoi was settled by immigrants like them

and as a town – what a little gem!

Her cup runneth over when her first flowers bloomed – 

colourful, beautiful, softly perfumed.

But to sell them, surely she needed a name

that tells the story of how she got in the game.

And what could be better than a tip of the hat

to the little town that gave her just that.

Puhoi means Slow Water and how fitting to know

that her dream was named after a town she loved so.

For after long years of swimming upstream

Slowater Flowers was finally more than a dream.

Episode Five – The Here and Now

Although Puhoi was the beginning it had to come to an end - 

the family moved on and started over again.

They moved to a new place and loved it too

and flowers always filled a paddock or two.

But again the landlady made unsettling sounds

about building more houses and subdividing the ground.

After so much hard work, it became almost too hard

to move on each time and make a new start.

So the husband and wife sat down and planned

how to buy their very own piece of land.

A list of must-haves and wants were penned down here

and this list was whispered into God’s own ear.

God heard them and showed them the perfect place at last …

a house, a barn, and train that goes past, 

and just enough land for flowers to grow

- with a little bit of effort because the water is slow.

Now they have two cats and chooks in the yard

and MacGyver and Milo happily on guard.

Fifteen years ago, who could ever foresee

That this woman would follow her dream overseas?

And if you should look for that woman now

just drive north of Auckland to Makarau.

In this little valley she spends most of her hours

planting, and weeding and picking her flowers.

This is a story that spanned several years

filled with hard work, setbacks, successes and tears.

And now with her heart finally at rest,

she is deeply grateful for her life so incredibly blessed.