Emma Higgins is a very busy lady. She is a mum of two children under five, a senior agriculture analyst for Rabobank, a South Island Board Member for Rural Women New Zealand and she hosts her own podcast. She runs us through a typical day, which made us at Nelson Magazine feel tired just reading it.
2.00am | I’m abruptly awoken by the howls of one of my offspring. My specialty seems to be producing night demons. This time it’s my youngest, Georgia (2). I bring her into bed with me and hope she goes back to sleep fast (she doesn’t).
6.00am | I delicately extract myself from the limbs of my tiny human without waking her. Husband James is already up and making the kids’ lunches before he heads off to work at the building site. I go for a quick walk to try clear some of the brain fog from lack of sleep, ready for another full-on day.
8.15am | Both Georgie and Freddie (4) are fed, clothed and ready for another exciting day at Paula’s Preschool. No tears from either the kids, or me this morning, getting them out the door and bundled into the car. A great start.
9.00am | I head straight to my desk at the office and catch up on the latest agri-market news and clear emails that came through overnight. The global dairy trade (GDT) auction was held in the small hours of the morning and it was an excellent result. I quickly analyse the new dairy prices and do some media interviews explaining the GDT auction results and why it’s good news for New Zealand dairy farmers.
11.00am | I’m in the midst of co-writing our Agri Outlook report for 2022, which covers dairy, sheep, beef, kiwifruit, and other supply chain related sectors. Things look to be shaping up for another profitable year for New Zealand agriculture – but there are some strong headwinds blowing. Two cups of coffee are required to kick my brain into gear and delicately phrase some of my messaging.
2.00pm | I record a podcast for our Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) series ‘Black Heels and Tractor Wheels’ with my fellow RWNZ colleagues Claire and Mia. Our podcast is about shining a spotlight on some of our incredible women who are doing great things in our communities. Today, we are speaking with Ele Ludemann, an amazing woman from North Otago who very graciously shares her story of how she keeps going after the loss of her two boys, as well as her daughter Jane’s ovarian cancer diagnosis. She shares some sobering statistics on ovarian cancer and I learn loads from our discussion, particularly on handling grief. I come away from it thinking that we probably don’t talk enough in society about the realities of grief.
3.30pm | I remembered I forgot to eat lunch, so I dart next door to the Oxford Street Café and grab one of their delicious cabinet options.
4.45pm | Collect my babies from day-care. It’s been super-hot lately so as a treat we get an ice-cream on the way home (and also use it as a bribe to get Georgie into her carseat). Dinner, bath and general mayhem ensues. It’s a very messy, chaotic time of the day. Luckily James comes home in time to help wrangle the kids to bed.
8.30pm | The kids are finally both asleep – and just in time for a work call with my international colleagues. Living in New Zealand while working for a global organisation makes for some interesting times for team calls. Tonight’s call is thankfully one of the earlier ones.
11.00pm | I tumble into bed, with my last thought for the evening being hopefully none of the night demons wake tonight!
