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About Me — Andrew MacLeod
Life lessons: two steps forward, one step back
I look back now with an adults perspective and realise I was lucky with my childhood. I had large areas of farmland to explore not to mention plenty of farm fresh eggs, meat and vegetables to enjoy. Loving parents raising my brother and I in safe rural environments. All the basic necessities of life were there in abundance. Thinking back to these simpler times there’s a notable contrast to the world of today.
I grew up a typical farm boy in the 80’s on a few different sheep farms around the South Island of New Zealand. We went where my father could get work roaming the hills with his sheep dogs, moving mobs of sheep onto new pasture, plowing the fields on an old tractor or doing the myriad of other tasks kiwi farmers had to cope with on a daily basis.
Unfortunately I didn’t appreciate the circumstances of my childhood as much as I probably should have, being born with a physical disability known as cerebral palsy. Its a permanent condition that affects muscular co-ordination and strength. It mainly affects my walking and my limb flexibility.
It affects me enough that it was mentally disheartening growing up in rural NZ. Just trying to be a normal kiwi kid. Participating in sports and activities with other children was somewhat harder for me. Even…
