{"id":2219,"date":"2016-05-29T10:31:24","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T22:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.charmedlife.co.nz\/cowboybootsandbrokenfingers\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2016-09-04T21:46:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T09:46:00","slug":"mama-mia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.charmedlife.co.nz\/cowboybootsandbrokenfingers\/mama-mia\/","title":{"rendered":"Mama Mia!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The in-laws visited last week. Mama is 84, Papa is\u00a090. It had been quite some time\u00a0since the Forbearing Husband had seen them in person. Not knowing how frail they might be, he had thoughtfully organised wheelchairs to move\u00a0them between gates\u00a0at the\u00a0Auckland Domestic Terminal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turns out he needn’t have worried. They set\u00a0a pace that puts us younger people to shame.<\/p>\n

Mama is an avid weeder. She may have clocked up four score years\u00a0in that body, but she works with all the energy of\u00a0a 25\u00a0year old.\u00a0She took on the Jerusalem Cherry in the chicken run<\/a> (which we’ve been chipping away at\u00a0since we got here) and within two days it was\u00a0all over for the JC. ‘Weeds — meet Mama and die’.<\/p>\n

\"Weeding\"<\/a>

Our secret weapon against Jerusalem Cherry.<\/p><\/div>\n

They both get up at the crack of dawn. On Saturday when we took them\u00a0to the Whangarei Growers’ Market<\/a> they had been up (so they said) since\u00a04am. Ready to go, and just waiting around for us young slug-a-beds (the market doesn’t start\u00a0until 7am, and we live just 20mins drive from town, so I’ve no idea why anyone needed to get up at 4).<\/p>\n

Later Papa took himself off for an early morning walk around the Seven Acre Wood, and then dealt very efficiently to a pile\u00a0of\u00a0rubbish: squashing cans, wrestling cracked\u00a0hose into coils and making neat stacks\u00a0of old\u00a0weed-matting.<\/p>\n

\"Striding<\/a>

Still fast enough to create camera blur as he strides through the woods.<\/p><\/div>\n

They were both\u00a0very taken by the pool and swam a couple of times, despite the water temperature at this time of year being such that even the teenager won’t go\u00a0in for more than a few minutes. What is it with\u00a0these robust\u00a0senior\u00a0swimmers<\/a>\u00a0huh?<\/p>\n

\"Mermaid<\/a>

Mermaid alert.<\/p><\/div>\n

Then this happened. Picture the Forbearing Husband filming, heart in mouth, as Mama demonstrates something of the chutzpah\u00a0that must have caught\u00a0Papa’s eye\u00a0all those years ago (actually I believe they first met on\u00a0a dance floor, but I bet her\u00a0moves were just as gutsy).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n