Our favourite time in the morning is when the kids come into our bed for a chat and cuddle before breakfast.
Somehow, the topic of inheritance cropped up after Dan read a news article about empty homes. He joked:
"Mummy and I have it in our will that all our money will go to our favourite child."
Without hesitation, Jude (10) piped up:
Yay!
We all roared with laughter!
(Wrote this last weekend... )
I have started gardening as a form of personal therapy. It's working out well and hasn't cost a fortune... yet...
But I have noticed that memories come back to me while I'm gardening. Still to decipher if that's a good thing or not. It might be.
Two days ago on Thursday July 19th 2018, I was at work, planning ahead and checking the calendar. I spotted the date and thought "why is this date ringing a bell?" I couldn't figure it out at all and I never thought to ask anyone.
Had a lovely busy day yesterday at a family wedding. Beautiful day, Friday July 20th... still couldn't figure out about the day before.
Today, Saturday July 21st, I'm digging a border in my back garden. Hopes and dreams are swimming around in my head... and it dawns on me. July the 19th, Thursday this year in 2018, was Wednesday last year in 2017... the day we followed my Mum's coffin in the hearse, Garfield too, down the dual carriageway, through the Jack Lynch tunnel and towards the crematorium. Garfield was the cuddly toy we didn't need anymore. Mum got a kick out of its goofy face and big eyes, Garfield kept Mum company in her hospice room for her final weeks and was there when we went to say goodbye, the last time. The memory of Garfield is one that lightens the mood, puts a smile on my face but also gives me that feeling of finality. In order to move on and mourn the loss of Mum, I'm glad we let Garfield go with her on her final journey.
In a way, I'm grateful the date didn't stick. It may not hold much significance in the future either. And yet, the day passed by quietly - another first for my family and I.
The welcome distraction this week - my cousin's wedding - is significant, however. Much better to focus on the positive of July 20th 2018. A happier occasion where our family once again reunited and bonded. A day I hope to remember more often in the years to come and may well do so if I keep up my gardening therapy 💞
Saw a lovely photo today, of a friend and her sister when they were little. I remember them at that age, for I was as little as they were at the time.
Triggered some fond memories of their parents, in particular, their late mum. She is one of those parents who inspired me to listen to my inner voice. The one that says 'stop for a minute, stop what you're doing and cherish this moment with your young child because this time and moment, this innocent age, won't last forever'. Soon I'll be like my parents, watching my little one have her own family, a new generation, making her own scones and mistakes.
My eldest just turned 6 a couple of weeks ago. I gasped more when she turned 5 and started primary school. But this time, I accepted the upgrade without a flutter or a gush. Surprisingly. I leaned over the side of her bed, tucked her in and said 'Goodnight my little 5 year old' and she replied 'and I'm going to wake up 6!', thrilled with herself, content in blind knowledge. I love her naïve bones.
I recall my friend's mum being a sweet natured, creative soul. Humble and kind, from what I encountered while in their family's presence. I loved sitting with them for breakfast, following their daily routine in their beautiful, quirky home. And yet I'm reminded that she's sadly missed now. My friend and her sister are children without their mum, cancer being an unnatural thorn. Imperfection and illness - they don't sit well with me. Can't imagine they sit well with any of us really. So with that in mind, I turn to my favourite lyrics, accompanied by the sound of hope and I wish to grasp on to it. Because without it, things just don't make sense.
"Now, see yourself and see me too - and look ahead to a world that is new"
