The Day That Changed My Life

Myrtle Ann Gillies

2000

The day that changed my life was Sunday 19th November 2000 and I was in New Zealand. My friend Margaret and I were driving our hire car from Geraldine to Mount Somers, a winter sports resort in the foothills of the Southern Alps, when we saw that sign - the sign that was to change my life.

What were we doing in the South Island of New Zealand? It's a long story but suffice it to say that my Mother, Mary McMillan, had kept in touch with her cousins in New Zealand for many years and had planned to go there when she and my Father retired. She had shown me photographs of a number of these cousins and I knew how important the contact was to her. Sadly Mum died before she could ever keep her promise to her New Zealand relatives. When we were sorting out Mum's belongings, Dad gave me the NZ photographs and my husband, John, suggested that we, when we retired, should make the trip to NZ on Mum's behalf. Sadly, John himself died very suddenly in 1995 at the age of 57 and I found myself having to adjust to life without him. ... (continues)