The year that was…

For me, 2025 started with dirty nappies and baby spew on my clothes. Tired eyes and a full heart. In that moment, I felt like I could live this life forever. Being a Māmā was all I ever wanted. I was comfortable. I was content. 

But there was still something that didn't sit right. 

I wasn’t comfortable with the potential mamae our babies might carry because they didn’t know their reo. The pain of not feeling Māori enough. Although their whakapapa gives them access to every space they feel called to, te reo Māori is a gift our ancestors have been waiting patiently for us to take hold of.

Ko tōu reo, ko tōku reo te tuakiri tangata, tihei uriuri, tihei nakonako.
Your voice and mine are our identity. May our descendants live on. May our hopes be fulfilled.

In February 2025, I started learning te reo Māori full time. For our babies. So they could walk confidently in the footsteps their elders carved for them. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cost me.

I felt selfish. Deeply. 

For my boy who had spent full days without me.
For my puku pep, carried by a Māmā who was often exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated.
For my husband, who held me through the tears, the guilt, the overwhelm.
For our whānau, who stepped in without hesitation and took our boy for days when we needed them to.
For my mates I never showed up for.
For my best mate, who carried The Kindness Project on her own while I tried to hold myself together.

All of this is to say,  2025 broke me so that 2026 could reveal the most empowered version of me yet. Progress isn’t always linear. Sometimes it feels like life crashes down just as you find the strength to stand again. But please know, when it feels like this, keep pushing. You will have hard days; we all do. But it will get better.

So to 2025, as I sit in my whare still with dirty nappies and baby spew on my clothes. Now speaking the reo to our babies. Laughing with my love. Showing up for my people again. Picking up The Kindness Project once more. I thank you. 

To 2026, lets get it ;)

Nā Nellie Rahiri