There have been a couple of ongoing themes this week.

 

Somehow, religion and spirituality keep coming up. A woman who I respect a great deal, who shares an active and admirable Christian faith with her husband and family, shared this post:

It got me thinking about how great the basic tenants of most religions are. Be kind. Be tolerant. Help. Be humble. Listen. Learn. Forgive. That’s the place I want to believe most people who practice an active and organised faith come from. There’s a lot of cynicism among some about the intent and activities of religious people, which seems at best counterproductive, and at worst oppressive. These thoughts are just my opinion of course. And, when everything is said and done, people will be judged by their actions I hope. There’s many Atheists and Agnostics who I know and Love that show tolerance and respect for spirituality, and actively live the values that are taught across many religions.

 

The other theme that keeps popping up this week is Friendship.

That is a staple in everyday life for me, as I am unashamedly reliant on the Love and trust I have built over time with people. I get hurt a lot and disappointed in the pitfalls of some relationships. Hearing things that are less than kind, reported to me second had can really hurt, but there is also often an element of truth to people’s misgivings or frustrations. Personally, I’d just prefer people to tell me so I know if there’s something they want me to change, or something I have done to offend.

 

Then, there’s the fact living my life as openly as I do means there’s a lot of opportunity for people who are woven into the tapestry of my life to stand up and correct others or actively defend me in my absence. I know how lucky I am to have people looking out for me, and I know how easy it is to throw stones at my proverbial glass mansion.

I suppose, what I am saying is something I have said on many days and in many ways before. Thank you to everyone who lets me occupy a part of your heart and head. I hope that all the loud, crazy, frenetic and unpredictable that comes with knowing me is forgivable and you feel that I bring something to the table in our friendship. I know that I’d be lost without the Love and support of those who have become a part of my world.

And whatever your religious or spiritual point of view, thank you for being the kind of person who can respect my journey to figuring out this very messy and unpredictable life.

 

Have a great weekend, and Thank You for reading.

 

 

I know that some

Shake their heads

Whisper to each other

Under their breath

“She’s just such a spectacle,

And those poor darling kids.”

But I feel respectable –

In my parenting bids

 

I know, I know, I know –

I’m the sweary mum,

They scary mum,

The dancing in my chairy mum

 

I cheer the loudest

Act the proudest

 

I’ll high five your kids too –

For anything amazing

I see them do.

 

You might have your cliques

Your wine

Your cheese

You have your yoga

Your Pilates

 

You might run the household

A project, a firm

You may have a desk job

And for other things you yearn

You may be a traveler

Or stay close to home

But we’re all on a journey

And we’re all here to learn

 

I have my work, my chaos, my friends

I have dark days that I fear will never end

 

I respect who you are

And the decisions you make

And appreciate when you graciously take

A moment to smile at the scary school gate

 

I’ve never been one who simply fits in

And now, as a parent, I’m living it again

The knot in my stomach

The lump in my throat

Wondering what you’re thinking

Hiding under my company branded coat

Thinking you judge me

For working

Or not

Thinking some look down on me

Not just a little

A lot

 

So if you, like me

Feel often out of your depth

If you can just see

That we’re all filling leaks

In the boats that we sail

Through these uncharted seas

Overwhelmed by the breadth

 

I have children

 

They came with no manual

No instruction

No plan

They grow every day

Cause disruption

Elation

Heartache

And they inadvertently can

 

Make me feel like I’ve failed them

 

But then with a look

Or a word

Or a sigh

They show me

I’m their world

And they know that I try

 

So.

 

Before you judge

Another mother, caregiver, grandparent or dad

At the school gate

Bake sale

Or fundraiser that’s been had

 

Know we are all juggling our own doubts

 

Struggles

Misgivings

Problems

Anxiety

Finances

Expectations

Worries

And fears

We’re all completely without guarantees

Or insurance

Of what’s in store

Or even how many years

We have

 

But this moment is ours

 

Today after school

As we line the street with our cars

 

We ask them

To tell us

About the day that they had

Was it good?

Was it great?

Was it bad?

 

And then later

After feeding

And fighting

And brushing of teeth

Our angels will snuggle

With all our hopes and fears

Tucked in with them beneath

Blankets

That lay heavy on them

With our hopes

For a future

That’s not too painful

Too scary

Too empty

But full

Of potential

 

So I’ll juggle my own needs

My own dreams

My own hopes

And the plans that I hatch

For a world of tomorrow

With a slightly loosened latch

For these people we’re helping make

 

I hope that if and when these kids grow

And become parents too

That they know

 

We all tried

 

 

Nothing Much to Say on this Saturday

 

I’ve made a personal goal to write every day though, so let’s see how long this conviction sticks.

 

Today, I don’t have anything particularly wise or useful to impart, so I’ll just go train of thought for a bit.

 

I’m 36,000 feet over the pacific with the sun coming up over my shoulder. Feeling content, the way I always do in a pressurized metal tube hurdling through the atmosphere at 2/3rds the speed of sound.

 

Sam Smith’s satiny voice is warbling in my noise cancelling ear buds, and the world remains a beautiful and broken place on terra firma far beneath us.

 

Grumpy is flipping through the Christchurch Press, after assuring me he didn’t want to read the paper. Just another of the many instances every day, that one of us knows the other better than we know ourselves.

 

We’ll land in Brisbane soon, where we have landed countless times before. Friends and family are dotted around Queensland, and the company that manufactures the 50kW fast chargers we are installing across New Zealand are based not too far from the airport.

 

Tonight, we will be attending an audience with Professor Brian Cox, and even get a chance to meet him face to face thanks to the VIP tickets we managed to arrange.

 

This is not the life I’d envisioned, and I know that my soul mate and husband would not, in his wildest imaginings, seen himself end up here. He’s managed to score a relatively attractive wife, and four beautiful, healthy children to keep his heart and house full of Love and noise. A successful string of inventions on his resume, and the means and support to gain national and international attention as together, we attempt to expedite the uptake of Electric Vehicle technology in New Zealand and across the planet. And, most importantly, a group of friends and allies that work alongside us, buoy us through difficult times, and cheer us on when things are going well.

 

For a couple of awkward kids in their early 20’s, with a string of concluded relationships in our wake, we’ve certainly landed on our feet since finding each other. I’d hazard a guess that most of the magic is only possible because we’re a team.

 

The reason all of this came to mind this morning was an article about working with your partner in the Virgin Disruptor app. The author was a highly emotional and expressive creative, and her husband was logical, even keeled and business minded. They invite conflict, fight, but fight fair, and work and play together. The only real secret of their success, and any couple’s resilience, as far as I can gather, isn’t really a secret at all. Trust, acceptance, honesty and truly wanting what is best for your partner.

 

There are other bits, like enjoying food, fun and family time together, and growing as individuals. And for us, we’re also deeply needy people. I think having a complimentary level of independence/neediness is probably useful. I wouldn’t last a year with an independent spirited type. I need to be adored and, need to swoon openly for my lover. What would suffocate some is safe and freeing to others. I’d recommend finding a complimentary character in the neediness department.

 

Well, that’s all I wanted to say today. I’ve got nothing life altering or ground breaking to say today. We’re just doing us with all the grace and gusto we can, and most of the time it works out pretty well.

 

Have a great weekend, wherever you are and whatever you’re up to.

 

 

 

We adore the fine folks at Tritium.

They have been working with us to provide the worlds largest privately owned fast charging network, and their culture, integrity and beautiful design keeps us very happy customers indeed.

Here are some pictures from our recent visit to the Tritium team, who are based close to Brisbane airport.

Thank you for being such gracious and fun hosts as always Tritium.

See you again soon.

Flight NZ23 touched down in Auckland at 5:05 am this morning.

I do not regret for a single moment the exceptionally impulsive decision I made to fly all the way to Canada for a concert, and then fly home.

I’ve got a whole big blog about burying my youth and appreciating the few small gems that have stayed in my heart, and my life, thanks to the wonders of social media.

Today, however, I want to talk about my office.

This morning, I breezed through customs and immigration, due to the fact I had no time to shop so nothing to declare. I also didn’t have any number of children to herd. After being home long enough to shuffle steph, the only child we have in the country at the moment, out the door and boot her unceremoniously out off the car, I sped straight to the office.

I was met with hugs and custard squares.

They didn’t bother erasing the “Welcome Home DEE!” message on the whiteboard. I’d only returned home after a two-week family vacation. I rushed in, well before 9:00am and the laughter and chatter was solid for most of the day.

My General Manager, a posh, silver-haired-superhero named James, is one of my favourite things in the whole world. All the staff are fabulous, and I’ll write about them all in turn I have no doubt, but today, I want to tell you about this man, who does an excellent impression of a fog-horn, with his booming and energetic voice.

Let me start at the beginning. James didn’t like me much.

A lot of people don’t like me much at first.

A lot has changed in that department.

James was president several chapters of a networking group I was scoping out to join. He’s had a long and varied career, from law, to accounting, to PR, to recruitment. He’s clever, capable, and generally very cheerful. He’s also passionate, professional, driven, funny and someone you’d be well advised not to trifle with. He’ll call a spade a spade and stand his ground. The more he believes in something, the more of a bull he’ll become.

This is one of the things I Love about this man the most.

James and I share many personality traits. We both swear a lot, feel big, think big, and cherish the people and partners in our world.

I can’t put my finger on why, but James takes any slight on my husband or myself almost as a personal offense. He’s learned 10 years worth of Electric Vehicle and sustainability intricacies in a few months, and he’s catapulted my company and the EV movement forward by years. And, do you want to know what is really cool about all of this? He’s enjoying every action packed, stress-filled, chaos riddled moment of the journey.

We have bad days, and we struggle sometimes, and he and I are even known to have the odd disagreement or swearing match.

We’re often on the same page when something doesn’t feel right. If there’s an event, angle, personality or situation that doesn’t sit well in my stomach, it is never long before James brings it up and we find that we’ve both been sharing the same concerns.

I can’t say what the future has in store for us. We both want to knock this next few years out of the park, and decide then where our paths might lead, either together or cheerleading for each others’ next project from a distance.

As of today, however, James has saved more than just my schedule. He’s rescued my sanity, or whatever the status quo of almost sanity is for someone like me.

His Love, support, enthusiasm and loyalty have meant that I have the freedom to see my children and be a part of their lives. His amazing PR skill and intuition have facilitated so many wins, I am almost becoming immune to getting excited about his latest epic victory.

A fly on the wall in our office would either be in fits of belly laughs, or horrified. We often yell at each other, take pot shots, and air our personal struggles and worries without fear or repercussions. Ours is a culture of passion, integrity, encouragement and creativity. If I could put it in a bottle and sell it, I have little doubt we’d be billionaires overnight.

At any rate, the thing I really want to impart to anyone reading this today, is that you never know who is going to become an integral part of your life. Be patient with people, quiet or loud though they might be. Get to know their stories, and try not to be a jerk to anyone. Even those people who you’ll never really have much to do with are woven on some level into the fabric of your being, and if you discard or discount anyone. I can’t imagine where I’d be today if my GM and I had written each other off after a genuinely rocky start.

So thank you James Cozens. You’ve changed my life for the better, and I’ll keep brainstorming and head butting with you as we journey forward into a better future.