Book2

With Howard gone, Robert was now alove and kicking. The new son of Guy and Judith Buxton, Brother to Tracey Peter and Glenys. They lived in a nice house in Glenfield on the North Shore of Auckland City. Guy was a gardener and his mother a housewife looking after the children and house. As they didn' thave children of their own Guy and Judity adopted all the children, Robert being the last on their list. His mother didn't really want another child but on the insistace of Guy she went along with him. Tracey was the first child adopted and was a few years old when adopted, Peter was next and a baby then Glenys also a baby. and then lastly the child that I am about to write about, Howard or Robert.
Guy was born in England a son of a middle class family who had moved to Auckland with his parents and older Brother John. A close nit family. Guy had been born in Nottingham, England just outside sherwood Forrest not far from where Robin hood and he merry men are said to have lived. Guy had his own gardening business which he ran from home. Judith on the other hand came from hardworking Kiwi's, her father had left her mother and brother years earlier and Judith had a Stepfather living on a farm south of Auckland. her mother had remarried and had two more children to her husband. Giving them a different family name to Judith and her older brother Don.
When Robert arrived for the first time at his new home he didn't really know what was going on. He had been moved from hospital to hospital and house to house he had met plenty of different people So entering this house and family he just settled in and seemed to think that it was just another place that he was being placed in and had some friends to play with. There were kids all around this house so there were always some one to play with. Robert enjoyed his new home he had people that showed him love and attention, he also had friends to play with, and they all got along very well. Most of the time though he played with his younger sister Glenys, they were the same age but Robert was 7 months older, but that didn't matter to either of them. In this new home Robert learnt alot plenty of things at a young age, some of the things that he learnt to do were making his own bed, every morning before breakfast. Making cups of tea for their mother, so if they had friends over he would make the tea for them. Robert had to move a chair over to the bench and climb up onto it and sit on the bench tomake the tea. The children weren't allowed to have tea so they had cups of what was called a milky tea, which was hot water and milk sometimes with sugar in. That changed when guy decided to lose weight and they all gave up the sugar, but it made them feel almost adult like.
Roberts Grandmother lived on her farm with Judiths two younger brothers, her husband had died so she had helpers living in another house on the farm as well as her sons. To Robert it was like the farm was days away from where he lived but it was only an hour, but to him time had no meaning. The farm was large according to a 4 year old, being around 100 acres, and it backed onto the sea, it had an orchard with many different types of fruits and berries. Unlike his own house his grandmothers house had an outhouse. It was unlike some others that he had seen it was just out from the garage. The house also had a hole in the side for the firewood to be stacked into, with him being so small he was able to climb into the cupboard from outside and into the lounge without going through any doors. Robert liked the farm and wanted to spend as much time there as possible. One of the things that he didn't know was that not all the wires around the farm he could touch, so whilst out one day he put both hands on the wire and couldnt' move, they were electrified fences and they had to turn the whole farm off to allow him to take his hands off the fence. He was more careful in the future. His Uncles being alot older worked around the farm for their mother and on their days off would go duck shooting at the back of the farm. it was the first time that Robert had seen a gun and didn't really understand what it was, but knew that with it the boys would return with ducks for dinner.
Roberts Grandmother like his mother fostered children, so there were generally others for the Buxton kids to play with when they went to their grandmothers place. The kids that she looked after were related so it was like having a extended family. On occassions the kids their grandmother looked after would spend time at their house. On one occassion Lillian one of the girls and Robert were playing on the seasaw and whilst going around and around Robert went flying off and hit his head on the barbaque at the back of the house. He was ok but made her feel bad for hurting him.

Robert was prone to accident in his younger days, once he fell down the stairs and hit his head, the bump that he got he never got rid of, even to this day he has it. Another time as the family were on their way to church as they did each Sunday morning he was holding the side of the car whilst sitting in the car, the door was open and as his mother arrived she just pushed it shut not realising his hand was in the way. Well one loud noise and a scream later he was rushed off to hospital to have his thumb stitched up. Everytime the doctor tried to look at his thumb he screamed so the whole hospital knew he was there. After awhile when they had it all bandaged up, Guy took Robert to church to meet up with the rest of the family. They had fixed his thumb up but it also to this day is slightly deformed due to the accident. It was like it was there to remind him of his childhood and his near miss of losing his thumb.
Roberts new family were very religious and as I have stated went to church each sunday morning, the church was a Pentecostal one in the heart of Auckland City. The Buxton children called the ministers uncle and their wivies Auntie. Over the many years of going to this church ministers came and went but the Buxtons stayed, always sitting in the same row each Sunday service. Guy and Judith looked after the teenages of the church running the young peoples group so there were always a flow of adults at the house, and plenty of help for Judity looking after the kids.
Guys gardening business was going well and on occassion he would take the boys with him. Robert was alot smaller than Peter so didn't go that offen, but when he did Guy would take him home to his mother in the afternoons as it was to much on him otherwise. All the kids loved their father and enjoyed spending as much time with him as possible. One of the teenagers from the young peoples Don, his brother David was employed by Guy to help him out mowing lawns and whilst he was working there he and his wife moved into one of the spare room filling the house up more. Don was a good friend of the family almost like a second father to the kids and was there alot whilst guy was out working, Both Guy and Don were members of the church choir. Don was engaged to Jenny who was from another family that went to the church. Her parents ran a childrens home, fostering down and out children. Jenny's sister Sharon would also visit being around Tracey's age. But she spent most of her time with Glenys and Robert. The Buxton house was never short of visitores many times there were more people in the house than most would see in a year, His mother and Guy also offered a room to another of the young peoples group, Joyce was around 20 years, an adult like the rest to the kids. Joyce's was having trouble with living at home so her parents agreed for her to leave home s long as she lived in a christian household. So they now had four kids and four adults fulltime living in the house.