Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Time with family during holidays keeps us grounded

Family time has restorative power, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait writes. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

Hot summer weather always brings people out. Travelling, visiting family and friends, shopping, jumping in the lake, off to the beach, going bush, reconnecting with nature and just enjoying being out and about. Taking in the fresh air.

Christmas wasn't cancelled after all and we are making the best of the long-awaited freedom to just roam the country at will if we choose.

For most of us, Christmas does mean spending time with family and the special people we care about. It also provides us with the opportunity to share and give.

Giving Christmas presents is a big part of the festive season. Although I do have some friends who think Christmas is now just big business. Too commercialised and finding suitable presents a real chore, and overrated. They won't have a bar of it.

But giving presents doesn't have to be an expensive exercise. Sometimes the least expensive gift is the most valued. Something you make or grow yourself; a plant from your own garden, a jar of pickled onions or that tomato relish the family love, offering your time to collect the mail and water the garden for neighbours who are away for a few days.

Not everything needs to be big, bright and expensive. "It's the thought that counts" is a very apt saying.

We often hear that time is one of the most precious gifts we can give to family members and those closest to us. I think the past two years of having Covid-19 hanging around our necks has made us realise just how precious that gift is.

Perhaps by making time a priority in 2022, we would then show one another how much we valued our relationships.

Pukekohe New World owner Tim Wilson's special gesture in making the decision to remain closed on Boxing Day, was a generous and kind act.

On a day that I suspect must be a super-big trading day for all supermarkets, Wilson decided to remain closed. I'm sure his staff appreciated his big-hearted gesture. I suspect their families even more so.

Wilson said the year had been full of challenges. "All our staff have faced a massive workload this year. They've fronted so much frustration and anger and they've put up with it, and they've done a great job."

Wilson is a family man himself. He would know the restorative power of family spending time together. Having the time to relax and reconnect.

In every Quality of Life Survey that asks the question - what's important to you, what makes life worth living? - family always comes out on top. When you spend time with the people that matter to you, your life is automatically elevated, brighter, happier.

You are on their wavelength, they're on yours. You get recharged. You can enjoy regular walks together, eating together, playing sports together. You can laugh at each other's jokes, they know your quirky sense of humour. You can show your appreciation by shutting off your phone at certain times. You can share your latest books, go to church together and visit your special places. Just enjoy hanging out.

The people who work in our supermarkets are interacting daily with the public. They are busy getting the job done. I suspect many have suffered from fatigue as well as shopper abuse this year.

I believe it is loving family relationships that keep us sane, grounded and give us a greater ability to bounce back after experiencing another challenging year. Wilson is one of a kind. He has a large business to run and requires motivated staff to do that.

But what he has demonstrated, by ensuring his staff get to spend both Christmas Day and Boxing Day with their family and friends, is that there can also be great fulfilment in life in what we contribute to others. I wish him and his business a great start to 2022.

• Merepeka Raukawa-Tait is a Rotorua district councillor and member of the Lakes District Health Board. She is also the chairwoman of the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency.