She lost her four children, but had gained four great friends

My mother is now gone as long as I’ve known her. On the 23^rd June she was gone 19 years – the same age I was when she passed away. There are times I’ve to pinch myself when I think she’s actually gone that long but the fact of the matter is, she is.

 

With summer now here and as I watch my children enjoy playing outdoors, I’m reminded of a piece written by her which we found after her passing. She wrote about how she loved the summer and that, with the introduction of new Australian programmes to our shores, it meant it was ok to wear Bermudas! She loved the idea of them as she thought they were brightly coloured, which summer of course is all about.

 

As we went on to read the piece, one thing that struck me was she remarked how she lost her four children, but had gained four great friends. I remember as I’d initially read it I was thinking, she never lost us and wondered what we had done wrong. On reading then of the friendships she gained, I missed her all the more.

 

My mum loved the garden. She spent many an evening after work weeding and taking care of the plants as they grew. It was a perfect setting for those long summer evenings. There was a Bar-B-Que built at the side of the garden and when the weather was right, we took full advantage of using it.

 

Summer to me was about enjoying the outdoors as much as possible and as I grew older, it was spent sitting in the back garden as a family whenever possible and chatting about all that was going on. With the Bar-B-Que lit, it was an essential part of the enjoyment along with a cold beverage to wash it down. Together we made the world right, corrected each other’s faults as families do and listened to music from a variety of eras.

 

Now that I’m a mum, I’m making my own memories with my family and in some ways, I’d like to try to recreate some of my past. While I don’t have the green fingers my mother did, I’m making attempts to create a space for us to enjoy over the summer months ahead. My children are only turning four and 18 months this month so we’ve plenty of time to get it right for those summer evenings when we can enjoy a cold beverage while we’re putting the world right.

 

For now though, we can enjoy exploring our back garden looking for ladybirds and watching the flowers as they grow.