Poppy Wilson's Story

Poppy and Max Wilson outside Lalomanu Hospital.

Time - 7am
Day - 29th September
Samoa
In my sleep I felt a strange rumbling and I thought it was a massaging machine but as I woke my Dad was yelling “Get out of the Fale” He grabbed me by my foot and dragged me outside.I realised we were in a big low rumbling earthquake that went on and on. When it stopped I went back into the Fale and got dressed. At that point dad joined me and talked to me about staying close as he suspected that something else could come after the earthquake.
I said “Dad I need to go to the toilet”.
Dad replied “Yes but if you here me calling come no matter what”.
I went to the toilet block and locked the door behind me.Then I heard screams and my Dad yelling
“POPPY, POPPY, POPPY”
I bolted out of the toilet I was very frightened because the tone of my Dad’s voice
was very desperate and I could also hear other people screaming and yelling…
“RUN, TSUNAMI”
I saw Dad by the Fale and ran to him.I dropped the Fale keys in the hidey-hole.
Dad said“RUN IN FRONT OF ME”
He pointed to the cliff behind the toilet block that I was just in. Dad was right behind me yelling“GO, GO, GO”Every time he said GO I ran even faster.Maxwell was already well ahead of us.We ran over a rubbish pile.I dropped my beautiful fan that I had just bought the day before for 5 Tala.We started to climb the cliff using the roots and branches of the trees.

Maxwell was climbing in front of me, my dad was behind us both yelling
“GO GO, don’t look back”
We got about 15 meters up. I couldn’t reach the next tree root
“Dad I can’t go any further” I screamed.Dad yelled to Maxwell to grab my hand.
Dad pushed my feet from underneath.Maxwell cried“If I’m going to die, at least I’m going to die with you guys”.
Dad replied“Don’t be so stupid just GO”
Then the first wave hit the cliff.A yellow car was tossed up against the cliff. At that point I became very frightened .I climbed the cliff so fast that I can’t remember climbing it.At the top of the hill we were all alone.I was so frighten I was balling my eyes out.Then I saw movement in the bushes and I said
“Hey other people”but a stupid pig appeared instead.2 other Children turned up.
They were really frightened and crying for Their Mother and fathers.
Then 2 Samoan boys came running towards us.One of them was yelling for his Mum.
Dad stopped them from going down the cliff and told them to stay with us.
Dad turned his attention me and the other little girl to calm us down.
While dad wasn’t watching one of the Samoan boys went down the cliff.
We never saw him again.Eventually the other children’s parents appeared
over the rim of cliff.Dad told me to hold onto another little girl who was also crying and very frightened as he went to look for our friends Jenny and Sophie.
Dad reappeared with Jenny and Sophie Jenny had a sore foot.
After a while there was lots of people with us. Most of them wanted to go back down,
but dad said
“Don’t, We don’t know what’s coming next
Then as a group we started to walk away from the cliff,through the bush. Going inland We came across a Samoan man who told us to go to the hospital which wasn’t far from where we were.We arrived at the hospital and we cleaned all our scrapes and burses with wet cloths.
I saw a woman crying over her dead baby.The hospital got really busy and frightening so we walked further up the hill on a sharp gravel road in bear feet.
We found a house that was half built.Other people had already started to gather there.
We sat down and dad found some water to drink. After I drank the water I vomited.
Strangely I felt much better after that.We cleared an area for us to lie down
as we believed that we would be staying the night.Then some Samoans turned up with woven matts and pillows to make us more comfortable.In the house with us were a lot of badly wounded people and 2 families that had lost children.
Then a van came with cooking rings and food.They set up a cooking area and prepared us food to eat.After a while the wounded were taken down to the hospital.
Then cars turned up and before we knew it we were on the back of a ute and driving down the road.We drove past the hospital and it was over crowded with lots of injured people.Then we drove past what was our resort, which was totally destroyed.
I saw a leg and a head poking out of the sand on the beach.It took us 1 hour, 50 minutes to drive thought the destruction zone to Apia.
We arrived in Apia on sunset and went to a motel to stay the night.At 4:30 the next morning the church bell rang.We all leapt out of bed and ran out side,
Up the stairs to the top story of the motel thinking it was a warning for another Tsunami.But they were just calling people to early church.
The next day dad got us on the late flight back to New Zealand.We left Samoa with just our shorts and tee shirts.We had lost everything else
to the Tsunami.The Samoan’s of Litia Sini at Lalomanu lost everything
including family and friendsBut they still made us their first priority.
They are truly kind and loving people.We are collecting money to help them rebuild their lives, so please give generously.


Poppy Wilson
Age 10
Speech date - Friday 16th October 2009
Coatesville School

The Tales of Your Ancestors

How many of us listen to the tales of our grandparents? Stories from their childhood. Times when they were growing up and life was (of course) harder, and slower, and they had so much less than we take for granted now. Do we listen – and remember? Do we listen – and learn? Or do we roll our eyes and sigh, politely hiding our yawns, but with our thoughts miles away?

Falimu Mautu’s family at Satitoa owe their lives to their mother, Aniva. Who long ago as a child, listened to her father tell stories. Among them a story of when he was a child. And there was an earthquake, mafui’e. And afterwards, the sea came. Not a mildly irritated sea, but a roaring demented one that ripped through their village, wiping out houses and leaving the land scarred brown. He told a wide-eyed Aniva, ‘whenever there is a big mafui’e, then you can be sure, the sea will come. You must not wait. You must run. Quickly.”

Aniva’s daughter Falimu is twenty four years old. She was on the roadside waiting for the bus to town when the earthquake came. She went back into the house to check on her family, in time to hear her mother.

“My mother was saying the earthquake was too strong and we had to start running because the sea would come soon. She called out to my father who was cutting grass at the back of the house and my dad said, no there wouldn’t be anything like that.”

But Aniva was insistent. She screamed at the children who were preparing to leave for school.

“No! No-one’s going to school. We all have to run.Now!”

Frightened, the children followed their grandmother’s directive and began running with her back towards where the distant hill began its slope upward. Falimu picked up her baby and followed them. Her father put down his bushknife and started after his wife, still shaking his head at the strangeness of women. Still unconvinced but unwilling to risk the inevitable tirade that comes when one ignores a wife. As she ran, holding her grandchildrens hands, Aniva continued to shout – calling out to the neighbors they passed,

“Run! Run! We all have to run because the sea will come soon…”

They were midway up the hill when the sea came and overpowered their village. Hearing the hungry wave, Aniva’s husband turned back to try and get his mother, 109 year old Fa’aliu. His son went with him. The two men could not fight their way through the water in time. Both were injured. Falimu’s brother was crushed under a broken cement wall and would later be taken to New Zealand for surgery to help him walk again. The family matriarch Fa’aliu was buried in Satitoa by the remains of the Mautu home. With her are the others in the extended family who died – forty-five year old Sefulu, seven year old Satelite, and a seven month old baby, David.

After the tsunami, Falimu is emphatic, “No, no one in our family is going to live near the sea again. We’re all going inland because this isn’t the last natural disaster. There will be more mafui’e one day.” And for now – Falimu will tell her grandchildren stories. And hope they will listen. And never forget.

Peles Photography: Tsunami Samoa

When Homeschool Works.

So some days homeschool bombs. Im tired. Or uninspired. Or just plain ole lazy. But then other days everything just works. And they're learning. And Im learning. And theyre having fun. And Im having a blast. And Im so thankful i can homeschool. Today was one of those days. Got a neat art lesson off an awesome art teacher site. ( will post the link when i find it...) All about dimensions and perspective and layering and....well, its called 'looking out the window' and heres some of the results.
'Harmony' by Zion. Age 7. She says - "I would like to sit in this room because its so peaceful. And the view out the window is so pretty."

'Living the Dream Life' by Sade. Age 11. I especially love the chic high heels in the corner and the animal print rug - like i stepped into the pages of Vogue house magazine!

'Midnight Swim' by ....Unknown.

Spontaneity:the state of being spontaneous. Swept away in the moment. Able to live, love, breathe and act without thinking. Without planning and foresight.
Ahhhhhhh....doesnt that sound glorious? I cannot rememeber the last time i did something truly spontaneous. But then - can one be spontaneous when one has five children? Two of them with special dietary restrictions? And one of them a teenager full throttle in teenage cares and concerns? And a construction company? A home-based soap making business? And four dogs? A church calling ( or two.) And one is (supposed to be) following a rigorous training program that requires getting lots of sleep and lots of vegetables. ( do u know how much time it takes to peel all the carrots i need to eat to keep me from eating the entire bag of corn chips?!) Hmmm...

So there we were, Darren and I, discussing ( for the millionth time) whether or not we should buy a house in New Zealand. We've been planning it for going on a year now. Perused countless real estate internet sites. Looked at numerous houses - from dream mansions to almost ghettolike extreme makeovers. We've even gone so far as to almost buy not one, but two different houses, halted only by hidden asbestos and faulty electrical wiring. So you cant really fault our cautiousness. Or studying and pondering. But sitting there analyzing all the pro's and con's just one more time - I just couldnt take it a minute longer.

"Let's do it" I said. (Darren looked surprised and gleeful.) "No" I clarified "Lets go buy a house. No more talking about it. No more thinking about it. Lets get on a plane tomorrow, Look at the 4 houses we saw online today and just buy the best out of the 4. What the heck - lets just do it!"

The full glory of spontaneity dawned upon us. A fly by night trip to Auckland? Without our children? Throwing caution to the winds? Where we could then throw our life savings at a stranger in exchange for a house? And sell our souls to the bank on a whim? It was daring. It was foolhardy. It was exciting! And of course the thought of eating at McDonalds peacefully without five hangers-on...or sitting on a plane and being able to eat the horrible food. Because you dont have a wriggly, screaming toddler sitting on your lap. And being able to watch the lame movie. And actually listen to the headphones. Or (heaven forbid) even shut one's eyes and sleep if one so desired?! Or go to the mall and only look in stores that carry adult clothing. And books. and NOT have to stop at a single playground? Heck - i was feeling positively giddy...

But then - as it so often does. The rollercoaster ride of spontaneity came to a shuddering halt. Leaving one feeling slightly let down. And sick. I started thinking - WHAT IF?
*theres a tidal wave while were gone? Who will drive the kids to safety?
*theres a cyclone. And its so bad no planes can come here for weeks and we cant get back home in time?
*We both get swine flu on the plane and get stuck in intensive care?
*The plane crashes and we both die and our five children are left orphans?
*One of the Fab Five chokes on a piece of apple and nobody here knows how to do the Heimlich maneouvre as wonderfully as I do?
*Zach falls out of the tree. Again. Only this time he doesnt just hit the ground and laugh uproariously. Instead, he lands on the swingset, breaks his back in four places, ruptures his spleen and needs to be airlifted out?
*Somebody gets overwhelmed with RHD despair and too many James Bond movies and takes over the government with a stick of dynamite ( disguised as a pencil). And there is mass rioting. And confusion. And Fiji-coup-like-craziness?

Once I got going with the what-ifs, that was it. All spontaneity fled. Replaced with worry. And guilt. And frantic self-doubt. And a desire to hug ones children tightly ( in case just me thinking about the above stuff made it come true...) Is it just me? Or does every parent suffer from an over active imagination coupled with over-hyped-worry syndrome? How do other people do it? Go on holidays without their kids? Let them run to Kickboxing class without praying they wont get hit by a car. Or attacked by a gang street thugs? You'd think that with five children - I'd be a pro by now at "letting them go....and go...and go...please just go!" Instead, Im flipping out at the mere thought of jetsetting to Auckland for 4 days without them. I need help. From 'Psycho Overanxious Parents Anonymous.'

Sade's Words of Wisdom

Sade dressed as Cruella deVille for Book Parade. She actually fit my knee high black boots and that made me a little sad to see how grown up she really is. When she was little, she used to crack me up with her snippets of deep thought, uttered at the strangest moments.

Did you know that…
*Babies sleep a lot because they’re thinking about heaven…
*When you get old – you die.
* When you die, they put your body in the ground and the worms and the bugs come and eat it.
*Babies can see spirits AND talk to Jesus all the time because they just came from heaven…
*The tooth fairy isn’t real – its just your mum and dad giving you money…
*Girls can’t be prophets – because they don’t have the Priesthood ( announced loudly during the movie Whale Rider.)
*You shouldn’t pick your goobies out of your nose because they stop the blood from coming out of your brain…
*You should only kiss the person you’re married to because if you do that’s called adultery. So if you go somewhere and you feel like kissing someone – then you should run home really fast and kiss your husband quick.
*When I grow up I’m going to look just like my mum and we will be twins.
* When I grow up I’m going to be a artist, and a cooker, and a mum because girls can be lots of things – like my mum – she’s a teacher and a good cooker, and a office boss and a writer and she’s a mum.
* Hmmm…mum I don’t think cooking is one of your talents…(after sampling one of my new dishes)
*When Jesus told the Nephites he had to go and visit his other sheeps – he said that because the Nephites didn’t know that sheep lived in other countries as well, they thought there were only sheep in America and so they were surprised. That shows us that Jesus loves ALL the animals in the world – not just the ones in America…

The Joys of Homeschool

Five Reasons why Homeschooling aint that Crazy...

1. Because it gives you legitimate rights to sit and finger paint. And stick crepe paper streamers on a paper plate jelly fish. And NOT feel like youre dawdling about. Or wasting your precious time. And roll out a myriad of shapes in pink sugar cookie dough. And make rainbow fish collages with foil. And see what happens when you combine baking soda with vinegar in a corked wine bottle. Kaboom!

2. Because how else will you discover that your 6 yr old can do math problems faster than an 8 yr old? And hes ready to grasp the basics of algebra already? But that sitting still for longer than 8 minutes drives him nuts? and so if you have him skip rope his times tables or hop scotch his subtraction then he's less likely to drive YOU nuts?

3. Because then the english teacher in you can delight in having your advanced reader daughter discover books like...'The Diary of Anne Frank' and the Little Houseon the Prairie series and Little Women and 'The Power Of One' and 'The Outsiders' and some Shakespeare thrown in for good measure.

4. Because when youre learning about the wonders of the universe its okay to talk about how amazing God is and the perfection of His creations. And how earth is situated JUST RIGHT and how could that possibly be an accident? And you can rejoice when your 7 yr old marvels at the miracle of a food chain - "so everything is connected together - thats so awesome - Heavenly Father planned all that?"

5. Because youre children become so much more than those sometimes annoying individuals youre responsible for rearing. They become people. Interesting and interested. Fascinating and fascinated. By learning. By discovering.

Who's Da Boss?

Well it sure aint me. Or Darren. Bella (otherwise officialy known as Zarahemla Bella-Louisa Storm Young) is nearly two. But shes flexing her power muscles already. You can hear her high pitched scream all the way down to the main road. (as the neighborhood will surely attest) She has an extensive vocabulary which she uses with great skill and dramatic effect...

"NO! You BAD Zachie"

"Jade - come make it, come make my tutu buba" ( translation - please dear brother can u make me a bottle of milk.)

"Zio make house, make house for Bella" (translation - please amazing creative sister can u build me a complex playhouse using all the cushions on mums sofa, 6 sheets from the linen cupboard, several clean bathtowels, all the pots and pans and some water and crackers for playhouse snacks)

"Dada - come moe. HUrry up. Come moe NOW." ( Father dearest can u please put aside everything you are doing which was of no consequence anyway and come lie down on this bed next to me to help me go to sleep because its ridiculous to assume i can fall asleep without you here so i can poke my fingers into your eyes while loudly proclaiming my cleverness as i name every piece of yr face...NOSE! EYES MATA! MOUTH! TICKLE TALIGA!)

She is a consummate actress - turning on the waterworks with great dramatic effect when needed. Mum threatens to sasa her if she doesnt stop jumping on the bed? Eyes fill with tears, heaving sobs wrack her body "Daaaaaaaad see bad mummy!" You wont let her run outside naked with the puppies? "Mummy pleeeeease, Bella go outside? Pleeeeease?" (more bone crushing sobs)

She even has the nerve to mock the dreaded authority figure of all authoritarian figures....Uncle Cam. He was here tonight when she was refusing to put on her nappy. ( a new phase shes in - wants to run around butt naked everywhere. Hope she outgrows it before she hits adolescence.) He gives her the stern, loud censurious voice,"BELLA - STOP THAT. PUT ON YOUR PANTS NOW!"Ha. Did she falter? Did she quake? Did she scamper for refuge into a bunny rabbit burrow? No she did not. She looked at me. She grinned as if to say...'who does this silly billy think hes kidding? Doesnt he know I am the princess of this palace and NOBODY tells ME what to do or where to go?" And then she wrinkled her nose, scrunched her eyes, poked out her tongue and said "No 'Am!" And garnished it all with a giggle.

Okay - so i confess i laughed. It was funny. And I admit, somebody around here is spoiling this child rotten. But it aint me. I think its her father. Its his fault. Or maybe its the other four fantabulous childrens fault. After all - they're at her beck and call all day indulging her every whim. And i know with dreadful certainty, that there will come a day when i will rue her being sooooo spoilt - probably when shes 19 and comes home to announce loudly that shes fallen in love with a wonderful boy (who she met two weeks previously) and shes getting married to live happily ever after - a day of doom when i will shake my head and tear out my hair and ask the universe, why? Why is this child not listening to me!?But in the meantime, she continues to wrap us all around her chubby little fingers.

When she smiles at me with a face covered in gluten-free bread and honey. Bread made with rice flour that took her big brother several hours to hand grind. And her mother another hour to bake. And she announces with great delight - "Nice! You make it for Bella mum. Nice!" I melt. And love her some more.

When her dad takes a broken old tricycle and makes it like new, fashioning a new wheel out of a piece of wood and doing other such intricate things with all manner of power tools and she rides it around the house with peals of laughter. Adn then comes to pat him on the arm and announce with great delight - "You good dada. You make it! You good dada." He melts. And loves her some more.

Yup. Whos da boss of the Young house? The Youngest Young. Zarahemla Bella Louisa Storm.