October/November 2012 Timaru Tots - Parents Centres New ...

TIMARU TOTS PAGE 18
committee profile: Melissa
Hi, I’m
Melissa. I
joined the
Parents
Centre
Committee
at the beginning
of
this year
with the intention of getting out of the
house more, and meeting more people. I
took on the role of putting together the
New Arrival’s Pack’s shortly after.
I grew up in a small town in the Bay of Plenty,
called Te Puke. My twin sister and I
attended the Kindy, both primary schools,
Intermediate and High School there, before
moving to Timaru with my family in 2001 to
complete my schooling at Mountainview
High School half way through Year 12. After
finishing High School I followed my twin
sister off to Otago University where I studied
Primary teaching, which didn’t work out
after a year and a half so finished off the
second year with a short 6 month Certificate
in Business Admin. I then moved home to
live with mum, and work at McDonald’s
until I found a better job while studying Veterinary
Nursing by distance. It didn’t take
long to get a job with more regular hours
across the road at Pak’n Save in the chiller
and freezer department. I was the first
female to ever work in the department and
met my now husband, Edward working
there. He had been working there for
around 8 years in and around various
teaching jobs. Just under a year later I got
offered a job out at Temuka Vets. In January
2008, only 6 months after getting engaged,
Edward and I got married. It was a lovely
day, surrounded by friends and family.
Only a few days after we returned from our
honeymoon we made the move to Westport,
where Edward had gotten a teaching
position in a local primary school, in an
attempt to get more experience. It was a
real experience living on the West Coast,
but we only lasted 6
months before returning
home and
Edward getting
offered a better job
than the one he left
back at Timaru Boys’
High School. I went
back to Pak’n Save
temporarily until I
got a better
job….this time only
for 6 weeks, I got a job with NZ Post at the
Strathallan Street Post Shop, where I
worked until Christmas Eve 2010 when I was
37 weeks pregnant with our first son William.
William was born late January 2011, just
before school
started back for
the year for Edward.
It made
those summer
holidays very long,
waiting for William’s
arrival, not
knowing how far from home we could travel.
We decided that I wouldn’t return to