In a car crammed full of my belongings I sat counting on my fingers the times I have moved house or apartment, not counting the times I lived in a backpackers or hotel.
Janine Krippner is back home in Waipā where she is surrounded by volcanoes, and family. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
In 21 years I have moved about 25 times. Some of those moves have been across countries, some across states, but all have involved downsizing where I can, packing, moving logistics, and unpacking.
Many of those times were with my two cats in tow. I am so efficient that it should be on my CV at this point. It’s pretty astounding considering I lived in the same house from birth to university and I will never forget how scared I was before my first move.
A career in volcanology has meant a lack of stability and not yet being able to put down roots, as much as I would love to.
While this is exhausting, trust me I am very much over it, I am very aware of how fortunate I am. Working in a field where I have spent so much time thinking about people losing everything to natural hazards, many having very little to begin with, has skewed my perspective on what “normal” is. I place so much more value on “stuff”, but not having more stuff, by truly appreciating the stuff that I have. It also helps with not being frustrated at myself that I don’t have life figured out yet.
Janine Krippner looking at lahar deposits down the Whangaehu River. Photo: Brian Perttu.
I deeply appreciate having Te Awamutu be a stable base that I can always visit to recharge from the chaos. It was here for me when the pandemic drove me home, it is here for me now when our current situation in New Zealand has resulted in a lack of work for me alongside many, many others across the country.
Having said countless times that ‘it could be worse’, I say it with a true understanding of what ‘so much worse’ really does look like. It could look like having a tsunami flood through your home. A searing hot pyroclastic flow devastate your village. A landslide bury and relocate your home along with all of your neighbours. Insane wildfires turn your town to a blackened landscape. Living for months in an evacuation centre waiting to hear if you have lost everything…
Before I send this in to the editor, I am still waiting to hear if a dear friend is okay after she was in an area hit hard by Hurricane Helene.
It is easy to be mad or upset at how things are going in our backyard lately. While the news is talking about recession, job losses, skyrocketing cost of living prices, I feel that we are missing global perspective.
No, perspective doesn’t help us pay rent or for far-too-expensive groceries, but it is a reminder that the past few years have been difficult for many countries around the world, even without taking natural disasters into account. It doesn’t mean that we as individuals have screwed up or aren’t good enough, it’s just tough.
If you’re having a tough time lately, I truly hope that things get better for you soon. I hope you can be patient and kind to yourself each day as we all navigate the ups and downs, and not beat yourself up on the days where you just don’t have 100 per cent to give. We are always so much stronger than we think.
Janine Krippner checks her camera settings while on volcano watch. Photo: Drew Mehrtens.
