Celebrating friendship

A good friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though they know that you are slightly cracked.
By Bernard Meltzer

I love that quote!
Recently I had the pleasure of attending my oldest friend’s 70^th birthday celebration down at Levin.  My good friend Cynthia Kane.  We first met when we were flatmates at 365 Ferguson Street, Palmerston North somewhere between 1970/71.  Neither of us can remember the exact year, but that is OK.  We have remained friends ever since.  We may not talk for weeks or even months, but we always know that each other is only a phone call away.

As I drove down to Cynthia and Geoff’s (husband) home just outside of Levin, I had plenty of time to reflect on our years of friendship and the meaning of “friendship”

When we first meet, we had sport in common, mainly indoor basketball – a game we both loved, and we always played to win!!  We were very competitive.  Along with the love of sport, our friendship grew and on reflection, I guess that was because:

• we shared common interests, similar values, and beliefs (both have been brought up on dairy farms, Cynthia in Pahiatua and me in Ratapiko, Taranaki)
• we enjoyed each other’s company having plenty of fun and laughter. (Cynthia was more socially sophisticated than I and did love to ‘have people on”)
• we cared about each other’s wellbeing, sharing our emotions and fears. Having someone to share your feelings and thoughts seem to help share the ‘mental load’ if that makes sense.
• we respected and accepted each other as we were then and as we are today – that total acceptance.

Over the years our friendship has gone through many happy and fun times; marriages; a divorce; endured incredible sadness; all the normal experiences of living a full life.  Our children are similar in age and over the years it has been interesting watching them grow and develop into responsible, and contributing adults – all forging their own paths in a diverse range of careers.

Automated Milking System (AMS)

Cynthia and Geoff’s son Aaron lives just outside Shannon on an organic dairy farm, which Aaron has instigated.  Last year Aaron installed an Automated Milking System on the farm.  As luck would have it, Geoff took me to see the milking plant in action.  Watching the cows being milked and how the system operated ‘blew me away”.  Before visiting the farm, I couldn’t imagine how an AMS worked, but seeing one in action was mind-blowing.

I quickly learned that the robotic part of the system is the ‘arm’ that automatically moves in under the cow’s stomach (when she is in the bail), washes the teats and then each milking cup is individually attached to the cow’s teat.  If the cow is new to the milking system and she is a bit jittery and moves around a lot, the process of attaching the milking cup to the teats takes time as only one cup is attached at a time.  The robotic arm moves backward, forwards, up and down via sensors depending on how much the cow moves or kicks, the size, and shape of the udder and teats.  This process of attaching the milking cups to the teats can take some time – the robotic arm not giving up!  All this happens without any human intervention but can be manually interrupted if need be.  The amount of milk coming from each quarter is displayed on a screen, all very informative and fascinating.  Meanwhile, the cow is enjoying a little treat which is also an incentive for her to be milked.  When the milking is finished, and the robotic arm has returned to “not in use’ status the cow is automatically released from the bail and she can happily move to the new paddock and fresh pasture.

It was also fascinating to see a ‘scratcher’ brush for the cows.  Where they can rub themselves against.  Geoff said they do use it more often in the summer months – I can just imagine how good that must feel!  This farm visit was an unexpected highlight for me.  Well done Aaron, you sure are carving out your own path – keep it up.

Cynthia and Geoff have always been farmers and we have shared many happy times enjoying that lifestyle and the farming activities.  Both Rafer and Tracy have very fond memories of time spent with Cynthia, Geoff, and their boys.

One of Cynthia’s wishes for her birthday was to have a sit-down meal with family and friends.  This happy occasion was held in their garage.  It was well done and the food delicious and nutritious.  Geoff had organised a woman to come in and cook and serve the food which enabled both Cynthia and Geoff to enjoy their family and friends without the worry of preparing food etc etc, even the dishes were washed.  It was a special evening and a privilege to have had the opportunity to share it with them all.

Reflecting on Cynthia’s and my years of friendship has made me realise “friendship” has no absolute definition of what does or does not constitute a friendship BUT what I realise is that it is something special and must be valued. Because without friends, what would life be like – I would hate the think.  I remember reading somewhere that “a good solid friendship helps promote brain health!” Who isn’t after that?

What does ‘friendship’ means to you?  I would enjoy reading your response.

Till next time, make the most of your day and take care – GoldCard Gal 🙂