#wanganui — Public Fediverse posts

THE UPSIDE-DOWN WATCH 💎

When I was a small boy, about five, I was sent away with tuberculosis to a children’s sanatorium in Wanganui, New Zealand. That was another time and another whole world away; I was there for roughly two years.

This morning, for no particular reason, I found myself remembering one particular nurse.

I DON’T REMEMBER HER FACE, THOUGH.

Not at all.

What I remember is her starched white uniform. Her nurse’s cap. And a little watch clipped to her uniform, upside down, so she could look down and read the time. I can see that watch now.

Sixty-five years later.

I mostly remember her from my bedtime. She put me to bed. Fussed over me and looked after me as though she was my mum. She did all those ordinary intimate little things that a small child needs an adult to do for him.

And somehow, in my memory, she simply accepted the whole role. I don’t remember conversations. I don’t remember her name. I can’t summon her face. But I remember what it felt like to be cared for by her.

THAT SURVIVED.

It makes me wonder about memory. Perhaps we don’t always remember the people who loved us or cared for us as clearly as photographs. Sometimes the faces disappear. The names disappear. Almost everything disappears.

And sixty-five years later, there is a small boy lying in a hospital bed, a woman in a starched white uniform, and an upside-down watch.

And somehow, the kindness is still alive.

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#memory #kindness #childhood #care #ageing #humanity #child #nurse #uniform #children #Wanganui #NewZealand #tuberculosis #mum

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How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl

How many runways can you see for Wanganui airport (New Zealand) ? : The answer is on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/nzwu/en #wanganuiairport #airport #wanganui #newzealand #nzwu #wag #aviation #avgeek vl