Letter: Home again - to this

"You should be so ashamed of yourselves," a reader tells the people who broke into her car and made her children cry. (STAGED PHOTO)

After spending a fantastic afternoon swimming up at the Takahue Domain waterhole with family and friends on Sunday afternoon, I was absolutely dismayed to return to our cars to find that all three of them had been broken into.

It's not even that it's money to spend on repairs two weeks before Christmas that's going to mean a much leaner Christmas for us and our kids. It's not that my kids were absolutely hysterical and terrified when they first saw the damage, and still are talking of nothing else.

It's not even that I feel violated or even that I feel very, very angry. It's the disappointment that has me really feeling a sadness in my heart.

Takahue is my home. It's where I grew up. It's where my parents live, and where 15 months ago my family and I moved back to in order to have a simpler, more peaceful lifestyle. I have travelled the world and lived in London, Sydney and Auckland, and yet it is my own backyard where we get victimised.

I feel sad and disappointed.

I thought we lived in a serene and caring community, a haven to come home to at the end of each working day. A spot where we could feel safe and secure, being part of a community that looked out for one another. I'm not sure I feel that any more.

To the people that did this to my family and our friends, there is a very simple saying that I'm sure even your juvenile brains can comprehend: 'Don't foul in your own backyard'.

I live in this valley. And I know you do too. My family and I are part of this community, and we will be around.

You should be so ashamed of yourselves. What horrible people you are. I am very disappointed in you. I feel angry at you because you made my kids cry. Live with that, and I hope it eats away at you.

LORIEN MEYERS
Takahue