The Magic of Connections and a Quizz

 Ata marie Class 5,

I hope this finds you all well- let's be honest, when the sun is shining, the tulips are flowering, new shoots on the roses are shooting and you have a great bean bag on the deck, lockdown is quite a treat, don't you think? I love it that you are all enthusiastically looking at Egypt and writing books, but make sure to enjoy that sunshine and make the best of that relaxation- it won't last forever...

One of the strange positive side- effects of lockdown is that I connect with so many different people. That happened last time as well. The Theory of Angela is that normally, my day is so full of people (you!) and I am so satisfied on the People-Meter by the end of the day, that I don't really reach out much. Now of course, the People Meter is close to empty.

And there is something magical in making connections- things happen. I am going to tell you the true stories of two connections with a magical touch I made in the last week. And if you're thinking halfway, gee Angela, I was looking for WRITING TIPS, not your reminiscing of  old friendships, stay with me to the end, you will see why I bother telling you this.

My first connection was last week with a long lost friend from the Netherlands. We were the closest high school friends you could imagine, we pierced each others ears (don't try that at home) and went through all the ups and downs of being a teenager together. She was the daughter of 'skippers', which meant her parents lived and worked on a boat. The boat was called a barge and was used to transport many goods from the harbour of Rotterdam to the rest of Europe (lots of rivers, just like New Zealand, just a few less rapids. It's flat as a pancake where I come from) 

My friend lived in a boarding school for skipper children during the school week and every Thursday night her parents phoned her to tell her which train to take, so she could join them for the weekend. I often went with her, stayed with them on the barge and on Sunday night we took the train back to my place. If her parents were working in a country outside the Netherlands, my friend would come to my house. Awesome times.

After High School, we studied in different cities, moved to many different places and this being the time before cell phones, Facebook or the internet, we lost contact. I often wondered what she would be up to now.

So lo and behold and great delight when I saw her name appearing on my FaceBook Friends Requests last week! We have been writing back and forth over the week, having decades to catch up on. The best thing: we could talk to each other as if saw each other yesterday.

So my dear friend got married (and changed her last name which is why I couldn't find her) and had two children which are the exact same age as Tama and Mackenzie. But about 14 months ago, her life took a completely different turn. Brace yourself, because this is not a happy ending story. Just remember: there is beauty in even the darkest places.

Chiel, her 16 year old son had a diver's accident. He dived into a river into which he had dived many times before, but because it had been so dry, the water level was low. The combination of low water and pure bad luck meant he broke his neck. His friends rescued him out of the water and he was taken to hospital. Since then, he is tetraplegic, which means he cannot move or feel anything from the neck down.

What followed was a very intense time in hospital. Many people wanted to stay in touch and hear how he was doing, so my friend started a blog in which she kept a diary of what happened. She gave me access to her blog and over the last few days I have spend many hours reading her story. I have cried heaps of tears, not just because it is heart breaking to see such young person losing their hopes and dreams so sudden, but also because my dear friend describes all the beautiful moments in the process; his resilient spirit, his humour, the small (but huge) triumphs, the incredible love and support of others and their slow process of building a future which looks completely different than the one they had in mind before the accident. As my friend wrote so beautifully: they had come to realise that independence and quality of life is in the head, not the ability of the body.

My friend is not a 'published' writer, in fact, she doesn't really identify herself as a writer. She just wrote because she couldn't cope with non-stop phonecalls and the same questions over and over, so she started this diary to keep everyone up to date. Throughout the writing she noticed two things: 1. her head and heart were so much clearer after putting her thoughts and feelings on paper 2. she wanted to share with her community that the accident didn't mean her son had no future, just a different one. Not an easy one, but still very rewarding, loving, and even joyful one.

I am so grateful I could follow my friend's journey, all her emotions, her joys, her concerns, her gratitude, her positivity and practical solutions and her love for her family. She made me FEEL.

Chiel is doing better then expected, he even can move his arms, although not his hands. He has an electric wheel chair which he controls with his head, he has an adapted mountain-kinda-bike which he uses to go biking with friends and his brother, the family built a new house which is wheelchair friendly so they are all living together and the best part: when his favourite football team plays, Chiel has a VIP place in the stands and he is on first name basis with all the professional players.

My three points

1. Never ever dive in water, just walk into it

2. There is light in the darkest places (where did I find that quote?)

3. Writing is your superpower- don't wait for something dramatic to happen before you start writing, because that's probably not a great place to start. Write about EVERYTHING. Write about the small things. Write badly, write too lengthy, write confusingly, but WRITE

My second magical connection is very different. So I got this friend. Who is a Steiner Teacher. In Waiheke Island (That's in New Zealand in case you didn't pay much attention in Geography). So I give a her a call. So she tells me she got this new student. So this student has a parent. So this parent is a writer. A published one. So my friend the teacher is not much of a reader. So she knows that I am a big reader. So she asks if I have ever heard of this person. So I scream and dance around my living room. So I yell  'Are You Kidding Me?!?!" in my phone again and again. So Merlin thinks this is really fun, he should join in. So it is utter chaos in my bubble. So I really do not care. So I say to my friend could you please please please please please tell this parent that their BIGGEST fan on this planet lives in Christchurch. And that this fan organises Book Week at a Steiner School. And maybe, just maybe, maybe maybe could they pretty please come one day and tell Class 5 about writing?

No promises. But my friend is working on it. 

This leads to the quizz: Guess Who. Put your answers in the comment second below! You can win a virtual Chocolate Fish.

Here are your clues:

• at least 1 person in our class did a book review on this writer's book
• last year, I read you one of the author's books. You ALL loved it.
• this author often makes you laugh
• genre is often fantasy, but also uses mythology a lot
• there was a novel in Class 3 which many of you read as one of your first independent novels. It had the word 'Milk" in the title

So today's tasks:

1. Enjoy the Sun and Relax

2. Connect with someone outside your bubble. You never know what magic could happen.

3. Enter your guess of who my Mystery Author could be in the comments below

4. Write, my lovely class 5, write and send me your drafts.

Bonus Feature

The Diary of Merlin The Dog in the Tough Times of the Leash.

My stress levels are up. Mr Chewy is missing.

I like a good chewy ball. When I came to live here and started protecting this family, I chewed every ball I found. Every. Ball. I left no ball out of the game, no matter how much the family tried to hide them from me.

Then one day, Angela took me to the pet shop. After my bath, I heard her asking for 'an indestructible ball no matter what it costs'. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted that, but after that, Mr Chewy came to live with us. I have loved him every since.

I am asking the Hobbgoblins underneath the table to find him for me. Please Hobbgoblins, I'll be a nice doggy. I'll be a good doggie. Please please please...