Done for love

Another Queen’s Birthday weekend just went down and another list of Queen’s Birthday honours just went up. I have very little respect for the system that gives these honours, or for the ratbag behaviour of some of those who get them. But I have huge respect for the majority of recipients who between them will represent hundreds of years of selfless service of the hands- on, bum- up, head- down, give- away, done-for-love kind.

Te¯na¯ koutou ki nga¯ ta¯ngata hu¯marie. Ko koutou nga¯ rangatira tu¯ turu ki roto i to wha¯nau, hapu¯, iwi, ha¯pori. Well done chums!

For the bulk of us in Te Hiku o Te Ika this was another lovely long weekend to do stuff with our wha¯nau. It didn’t have to be expensive either. In fact there was a heap of stuff that could not only be done for love; it can also be done, free, any weekend of the year.

Ma¯ kete — most towns hold weekend markets where you can sell stuff and meet whanau and friends at the same time. There is bound to be at least one hui happening near you. Pick the happiest one and go. Climb your maunga or a hill near you. Rivers are there to swim in when it’s warm, and to watch and listen to in any weather. Go collect some kai moana and share it with those who can’t col- lect their own. There is never a wrong time to visit your marae. Take your guitar and visit wha¯nau in hospital or the Switzer Home for a sing-along.

Weed or harvest the garden. Teach your uri about their whakapapa. Start or finish an art or craft project. There are walkways galore in Te Hiku; go and walk one. Set up and run some wha¯nau games. Hold waiata practice or a wha¯nau concert. Have a wha¯nau cook-off. Pick a set time for total immersion and enjoy any silence while it lasts. Adopt a piece of environment (stream, street, whatever) and clean it up.

Hold a movie night outside under the stars. Pass the tokotoko around for a story- and joketelling night. Initiate and plan a long-term wha¯nau project. Find and plant seeds, cuttings and bulbs for indoor plants. Bottle any excess fruit for storage. Create a wha¯nau book of poems, songs or stories. Take time to refresh your protest signs. Put together a gift and secretly give it to a wha¯nau in need. Take some time out to do absolutely nothing. And don’t forget the reason for all seasons.

Whatever we do with our our weekends, we honour ourselves and others when it is done for love.