A Mother's Love

And so another weekend and another Mothers Day comes to an end. I hope all of you mummies were looked after and made to feel extra special. I certainly was.  My meal last night at - www.belandthedragon.co.uk - was as good as I had hoped. The food was wonderful and the wine came in magnums which was a bit of a shocker until we were told that we would only be charged for what we drank. Phew! Spending the evening in the company of 3 of my 'kids' was a joy, even if I was teased incessantly throughout the evening and I was reminded, yet again, how time flies. Looking at my confident, eloquent children not only made me realise how lucky I am but also that my youngest baby is now 21 and my eldest is 30. They will always be my babies though no matter how old they get.
I received lovely, thoughtful gifts too - a lantern and a wall hanging for my beach hut and a multi-coloured canvas bag made ethically (of course!) by Buddhists in Thailand. My bag was even wrapped in recycled paper and one of my cards was also ethically produced. My children know me very well.


You may recall from my previous post that hoped to pay a tribute to my own Mum today. As it's Mothers Day it seems appropriate to do so. You may also recall that I was going to contact friends and relatives to ask for any funny/happy memories that they had of Mum that they would be happy to share with me and then I could share with you in this blog.
I had lots of feedback and it made me smile so much when I read of peoples recollections. Here are just a few:


'..... my fondest memory was a day spent down in Littlehampton were we walked with the mums, sat in the sunshine having cakes and tea and just laughed and relaxed together.  Your mum had a gift of caring and making people feel comfortable around her, she had a beautiful smile and I adored her voice - always calm and I can still hear her laughter now. She made you feel like you didn't want to leave her when it was time to go but you left and had a happy warm feeling inside from having spent time in such good company!'


'Jarlsberg - the more holes the better x plain crisps x orange sorbet from food flair xx mini dresses xx sunbathing on loungers on the first sighting of summer xxx '


'.... Friday nights when we went down the Wooden Bridge to see various
groups, especially the Rolling Stones, the highlight being was when Mick
Jagger jumped off the stage and danced with us both, a memory we
never forgot.'

'I will always be grateful for all the love and support she gave me when I
was ill, she was my best friend and we had such fun together, I think of
her all the time and still miss her so much'


' ....with her hair in rollers preparing party food with my Mum'

' ... trying out her French on holiday and saying goodbye by saying bon jour to a group of local ladies'


Today, buoyed by such lovely comments, I picked some daffodils from my garden and went over to the crematorium to 'see' Mum. As usual, it was sad because of the reminder that she is no longer here to cuddle or chat to but, for the first time I think, my memories of my Mum are happier rather than sad and angry. I feel I have turned a big psychological corner and I couldn't be happier or more grateful to the lovely people who reminded me just what a great lady Mum was.

I will never stop missing her but I do believe that I have stopped being angry with her. I will continue to think of her every day but now it will be with a smile and with the hope that all of my recollections will be good in the future.

So, thank you , thank you so very much, to everyone who got in touch. Thank you to my children for being the best children I could ever have been blessed with and for making my life complete. Thank you to my hubby for letting me go on and on over the years about my feelings and never telling me to shut up. Thank you to my brothers and sisters for just being there and letting me be me and, again, not telling me to shut up!! To my stepdad who loved Mum so much and who continues to be a wonderful grandad to his growing brood of grandchildren. Thank you to my bestest friend who always offers such words of support and comfort when I don't know where to turn. But, most of all, thank you to my Mum for everything she ever did for me....more than I could ever put into words or do justice to....for being there, for being her and for her love. The last words she ever said to me were 'I love you' and I know she did.

Lots of love

xxxxxx