A Small Window

I truly, deeply thank Annette for being my mum and friend, and helping to create the person I am today.

From my early years I remember her involvement at the school, assisting with the canteen, etc. upholding solid family values.

Our income wasn’t grand, but I was given opportunities a plenty; swimming, little athletics, brownies/girl guides, tennis, piano. Mum drove far and wide to lessons, competitions and carnivals.

Living expenses were kept to a minimum through conservation of water, electricity, gas, materials, etc. Mum was a whiz at creating outfits from the minimal of fabric, and wonderfully wholesome meals were constructed from the cheapest vegetables and cuts of meat. Our school lunches always contained freshly baked cakes and biscuits. We complained that the best was always reserved for dinner parties; leftovers were scarce.

It was decided that television wasn’t needed in our home and consequently ‘bored’ doesn’t feature in my life. I loved playing chess, checkers, monopoly, card games, etc. with the family.

Mum’s progressive attitude was ever present as she tried new arts/crafts and recipes, then a new school for me. I came home one day and discussed the fact I was wagging; school wasn’t fun any more. So I moved to an ‘alternative school’, where kids were encouraged to be responsible for themselves and their learning.

I am so grateful for that opportunity, especially as the private school fees encroached severely on the family budget. But as a parent myself today, I am touched by that commitment.

Our garden wasn’t fancy, but Mum planted colour for every season. Flowers of varying shapes and sizes were placed in vases and smiled upon us. Fresh produce was reaped from the veggie patch. Mum’s love of gardening reflected her down-to-earth nature.

I know Mum must have endured plenty when she married Dad. She was so strong to withstand ill favour from her own family and friends, and also Dad’s family and friends. Nevertheless, she sewed her own wedding dress and self-catered for the small reception. Challenges continued as she ventured to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to meet the relatives.

I don’t think travelling was easy for her, but she did enjoy learning through my nomadic lifestyle. She would have the atlas open to where I was at the time and invariably an article or TV program would turn up for her to see and discover. If people requested she come and do a talk for them she would lovingly oblige, otherwise she was happy at home.

I would often buy food and drop by to share it with Mum and Dad but when they moved from Melbourne to Bundaberg there was something missing in my life. It was an odd feeling not being able to share with them at will.

 But the phone was always available, any time. Mum was a night owl, reading, communing, meditating, writing books, etc. so late night talking was easy, and often long.

I love my Mum and the happy, love she spread, her foresight and strength to believe and be who she was. And especially the love she had for me. 

-Lucienne Noontil

You can visit Lucienne’s website here to view her books and art.

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An Attitude of Gratitude

I like being half Australian and half Indonesian and I thank my parents for that, especially as in those days mixed marriages weren’t really the done thing and neither side of the family were very happy about Mum and Dad’s union. Although at times in my life and travels I could cheerfully have denied either half, I mostly feel lucky to have a multicultural background. However, I’d like to tell you about some of the other things for which I’m grateful to my Mum, but also to Dad, as they were a team, even though they had very different roles in the partnership.

One thing I remember as a youngster was being given lots of opportunities to try different activities: brownies, guides, calisthenics, little athletics, tennis etc. My sister has mentioned this in her piece so suffice to say that Mum did a lot of driving and outfit sewing and Dad did a lot of measuring distances and times and chasing tennis balls etc!

Mum and Dad taught us many things before we got to school; times tables, countries, capitals and rivers etc but they also gave us boundaries. This meant we learnt how to behave in different situations and different places and with different people. At the time I didn’t always enjoy these boundaries but as I matured I realised the benefits. Now, as a teacher I fully appreciate this early education because sadly I see many students in my classes who haven’t been taught these basics of living in a society. This makes my job that much more difficult and often less enjoyable. It is also frustrating to have to teach these things as well as the already tight curriculum load.

Our parents played with us, they read to us, they encouraged us to use our imaginations in our own play and to read by ourselves. We visited the local library often and each borrowed our own favourites; for Mum, cookbooks, for Dad, books on sport and for us all sorts of fiction. We didn’t have a TV until I was almost an adult and as a result learnt to be more resourceful and develop various hobbies. The words bored and boring don’t usually appear in our family vocabulary.

Another one of the best things, which Lucienne has also written about, is that Mum always had good home made cakes, slices and biscuits in the cupboards. Great for school lunches, after school snacks, after dinner treats etc. Even as an adult I truly appreciated this. If I dropped in to visit and no-one was home, the trip wasn’t wasted if I raided at least one of the cake tins! Regretfully I also see too many school lunches these days that are just full of bought, processed foods since many mums don’t know how or don’t have enough time to cook. We also had a multicultural food upbringing as Mum taught herself to cook food from other countries, from books at the library, starting with Indonesia, of course.

Mum also taught us (and some of the neighbours’ kids) to cook, sew, knit, crochet, embroider etc. Some of these skills have lapsed due to lack of practice, though I’m sure I could pick them up again if need be, but never the cooking as I live by myself and eating is one of my favourite hobbies!

A major thing for me was my motorbike. Firstly, I was allowed to buy one (with my university scholarship money) but I was also encouraged to do so. Motorbikes were and still are cheaper than cars to buy and to run so they are better for the environment as they are quite fuel efficient. Mum and Dad were always conscious of their eco footprint on the earth even before that term became popular. None of my friends, males included, were allowed to do more than look at motorbikes at that time, and even that was discouraged. I was ecstatic as I’d always been keen on bikes.

However, when I was fifteen Mum made probably one of the most important decisions in our lives. She found out that everyone has their own personal team of Guardian Angels and that you could learn to communicate with them. She took us all along to learn how and this meant that we never have to feel alone or afraid and always have help making important or difficult decisions. It also meant that Mum could relax, and help Dad to do so, whenever we were out or travelling anywhere. I always enjoyed and was grateful for this calmer attitude, knowing that most of my friends & families worried at these times. Worry has negative connotations for us and usually attracts negativity, so having an inner feeling that all is OK, or that if it’s not, having the confidence to deal with the situation seems to be a much better way to live life.

This ability has been absolutely invaluable and over the years we have all developed the communication in our own ways and to an even deeper level. Of course, as you probably know from reading Mum’s books, she channelled the information for them from her Guardian Angels. I use mine for teaching, for healing work and for deciding the next step in my rather nomadic ‘career path’ or life.

Thanks for all this and more Mum, and Dad. Although your physical presence is sorely missed we still get the messages.

-Karina Noontil, 2009