Rather than catch up with Susannah I can now only reflect on who she was and what she meant to me. I want to speak of her life and her achievements, but the truth is, I know very little about her. So my reflection becomes less about her, and more about me. What she meant to me, how I remember her, and the impact she had on my life, both as a friend when we were at school and as a memory now that she is gone.
The thoughts expressed during the few weeks of the reunion conversations have reflected the special person she was. Susannah was a friend to everyone, she effortlessly moved between the worlds of the cool kids and the swots (yes, me). I am proud that I was her friend.
An obstacle race. This is the thing that comes to my mind when I try to find my first memory of Susannah. I don't remember what year. I do remember that it was about the only sport I was any good at. I remember ladders and Susannah.
We got lost doing orienteering for PE one cold day. Well, I got lost, and I'm pretty sure I was with Susannah when I did. We wandered around in the bush for ages, and when we finally got back at the end of the lunch break, it seemed that nobody had missed us. And the teacher in charge told us to get cleaned up and changed and go to class. No lunch for us that day.
By far my fondest memory of Susannah was the invitation to her house for Christmas Baking Day. Her house was old and rambling, and I remember it at the top of a hill, surrounded by old trees and hedges. It sprawled with older sisters, a brother and strict parents, things far out of my experience. It was like a story book, a visit to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, or Hogwarts.
The experience of Christmas Baking Day was something special. The air in the old kitchen was filled with flour dust and sunlight. All of us covered in a snowfall of flour, and sticky with fruit and cake mixture. We stirred with wooden spoons, and rolled wooden rolling pins on a wooden tabletop, and the wood fired stove constantly demanded attention. The smell of baking in that old kitchen was everything Christmas should be. It was right out of an episode of Upstairs Downstairs.
Susannah's life was different to mine, and I remember wishing for the large family and the deep tradition. I knew that what I saw was just the surface of things, and that the Field family was as complex as any other family, but I loved what they had together that day.
She visited me in Sydney in the early 1980's. We had the kind of time that country girls have in the big city. I remember a blind date arranged by her friend. That is a whole other story.
I visited her in Melbourne in the mid 1990's. I was travelling for work and she was settling into a new life as a mum and step-mum. Again her life was so different to mine.
There are people who make an impact on you as a teenager. They are adults, teachers, role-models or the people you spent time with. The impact they leave is lasting and profound. Susannah was one of those people. She had that impact on me just by being herself. I feel sad that I didn't see more of Susannah throughout her life, and I feel intensely grateful for the memories I have of her.
Lisa Harvey (Faulkes)
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