Childhood memories of grandparents shaped me for a lifetime
“Magical” and “inspiring” are words that come to mind when I recall my childhood with my grandparents.
My Nana and Grandad are originally from Scotland. They immigrated to New Zealand on a boat called the Northern Star when my Dad was 16 years old.
As a child I remember hearing them speak so affectionately about this faraway land of the tartan kilt that I longed to someday go there myself.
My Nana always called me her "wee bairn" and when it was clear that I was always going to be the shortest girl in the class she would say "you're a wee smout so you are". I didn't fully know what a smout was but I had a feeling it was a good thing.
I have always loved writing and this was no doubt largely nurtured by my nana and grandad. My nana enjoyed poetry and belonged to a local poetry group. She would sit in a large golden armchair purchased from the elegant Kirkaldies and would read me poems from famous Scottish poets. Sometimes she would even share with me poems that she had penned herself.
My grandad was a journalist for the Evening Post in Wellington. From the age of three he would take me to his workplace on Saturday mornings and I was always enchanted by the exciting atmosphere of clattering typwriters.
Grandad would lead me into his office and tell me "I always have a coffee and a gingernut before I write up my column. I get my best ideas over a gingernut".
My Grandad's story of how he came to be a journalist always inspired me. I asked him if he had known he would be writing articles for newspapers when he was younger. He then said to me in a confident tone "I made up my mind that I would be a writer at the age of eleven. It was my destiny".
Grandad was born in Eyemouth which is a tiny fishing village on the Scottish Borders. Job opportunities were limited in this small town with only the local fish factory and supermarket being the main employers.
He told me he used to skip school a lot as a teenager to go and watch movies at the local cinema. After the movie he would write on a large sheet of brown paper reviews of the movie he had seen. It was only a few years later that he would become a reporter for the Glasgow Herald where his role involved reviewing movies and interviewing famous entertainers.
At his home in Ngaio there was a drawer that held the photos of his times interviewing The Beatles, Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley. I asked him of all the people he had met who had made the biggest impression on him and he said "Helen Keller. I will always remember her and what she said".
By the age of 4 I was already a regular movie-goer at The Majestic cinema in Wellington. I saw all the black and white John Wayne movies back then with Grandad. After the movie he would say as we would walk down Willis Street "Do you want to dance?" He would then take my hand and we'd skip down the street to Grandad singing Kenny Rogers song "You picked a fine time to leave me Lucile."
He introduced me to helium balloons which were magical to me at age five the way they could lift in the air like that. Grandad would say "They are as good as a kite really".
He took me rollerskating all across Ngaio. Now that was some commitment he made as Ngaio was one hilly place and I had to hold on to him from behind most of the way.
When it rained Grandad would say "Come on get your jacket on we are going to visit the river with those match boxes". The river as he called it was in truth just large puddles made by torrential rain. The match boxes he would refer to as boats and we would push them with sticks. Nana would call out and tell us this was crazy and to get back inside, but at heart Grandad was full of adventure.
My Grandad was the best role model I could ever ask for. He said to me once "Never rely on someone else to motivate you. Inspiration must always come from within". When I succeeded in a dream he was there to cheer me on. When I didn't achieve he was there to tell me a story of someone who had failed once and went on to do amazing things. He always reminded me to believe in myself.
My Nana died when I was 14 and her love of flowers, cooking, baking and being there for family were things about her that I will always cherish. My Grandad died ten years ago when I was 30 and I feel thankful that I got to have him in my life for so long. It seems to me though that the people we love never fully leave us. The very best of them lives on in us.
So I remember today the wonderful times I shared with them both. As I do so my Italian mother-in-law rings me to ask if she can take my two-year-old daughter out shopping for a pair of new shoes. I am delighted for my little girl because I know that she is giving my child memories that will shape her for a lifetime.
Written by Helen Macdonald. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.