Sumner

Just a real short post as it is erev Yom Kippur and I am wiped out from still trying to get settled. It occurred to me yesterday that I am not giving enough weight to the idea that adjusting is tiring. It takes energy to buy and organize and meet and greet. I decided, after putting on my game face and spending two hours strategically socializing with yet another neighbor to see if we might be friends or if our kids might get on, that I should cut myself some slack. This is hard work, even if it is all for fun. We are all beat. So tonight, instead of berating myself for not having written for a while, I will post something short filling you in on where we are.

Sumner is a beachside village of about 4,500 people in about 3.6 square miles. The town was first surveyed in 1849 and is one of the oldest settlements in the Christchurch area. It is technically a suburb of Christchurch, but feels like it's own separate place as you travel over a narrow causeway to get here and because the feel changes from urban to quaint as you do. There is a town center of about five blocks down one main street with shops and the rest of the town is residential. There are restaurants, a small movie theater, a library (closed since the quake), a town museum (closed since the quake), art galleries, a junk store, post office, etc. There is also the local horse paddock (where Ethan is taking horse back lessons, a youth club (where Sam hangs out on Friday's), a bowling club, a croquet club, a tennis club, a surf club, a rugby pitch (field), two playgrounds,and a long esplanade along the beach. This is all on the "flat" which is the flat area beneath the three volcanic cliffs which rise up behind it. There are houses up on the hills which are also part of Sumner too. There are lots of walking tracks and sheep on the hills.

Some of the most interesting history in the area is not about Sumner itself, but about the history Christchurch in general. The Maori in the area had a civil war in the south island and through treachery and sneak attacks, they killed themselves off down here down to only 500 individuals. There is also some really interesting history about how a huge flightless bird called the moa was hunted to extinction in the 1500's. Here is the link if you want to read about it. It is short and worthwhile.

http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/regions/christchurch/history.html

One of these days, I will take my camera and take some photos of the town. The architecture is very interesting. All kinds of houses standing side by side, from very old cottages to very modern structures, and everywhere, the ubiquitous english garden wall. It is a lovely place to be. Every day as I walk the kids to school or walk to the grocery store, I am glad we chose to be here. It is a special place in today's modern world. A place you can't find anywhere. It is a place with specificity. I like that.