Today would have been my lovely Mum and Dad’s 48th wedding anniversary.
I love this picture of them both – the glasses are fabulous for a start!
Oh I miss my Mum so much some days and I know Dad does too. However, we had many wonderful years with her and we are blessed in so many ways.
In direct contrast to our tatty looking garden my Dad has the most beautiful garden. His dahlias are especially beautiful.
The old man is getting older and today he turned 71 – looking good for his age I reckon!We even managed to drag him out to the beach for a short walk which was a result.
Seriously though, I am hugely grateful for all the time we get to spend together, for his influence in and on our lives and the fact that our children get to spend time with him. The Little Miss really dressed to impress for this beach walk!
This evening my sister and I went for a nice meal with Dad at a local pub. It was lovely to have a catch-up without any children bothering us!
Happy Birthday Dad. We love you x
Five years ago today my Mum died suddenly on a beach on Greece. The day itself is imprinted in my memory – the phone call from Dad, the conversations about what we were going to do. The shock. The horror. The panic. The grief. It felt like it would never end.
Then suddenly you realise that whilst your grief is there – it remains the same size as the day the bereavement happened – life has grown around it. Our lives have moved on and developed and we have lots of good things. There is so much of our lives, particularly with regard to the children that Mum was never present for. That’s painful but at the same time our things go on and we have to make an effort to be fully present every day.
This evening Dad, my sister Louise and I went out for dinner. Twice a year we try and go out just the three of us – Mum’s birthday and, erm, Mum’s death day. I love that this has become our routine.
We had a lovely meal with good cocktails and wine. We talked about Mum, we talked about life and plans and good things. I love Dad and Lou and I love that we can enjoy remembering and we can grieve together.
Despite sadness our lives are good. They are rich and fruitful and I am grateful for all we have.
This is another photo that was taken yesterday.
I love my Dad and my sister. They have been my rocks over the last few years. We are very lucky to have each other.
My cousin Stef has been over this week staying with my Dad. We went to his house after school where we fed kids pizza, they played in the garden and then they went to an after school club.
I love this picture of my Dad and his grandchildren. It pretty much sums them all up. They are naughty, mischievous little creatures and they love their Grandpa very much.
I love this photo of my Dad and the seven children he sponsors through Compassion UK.
Despite all he has been through over the last few years he has continued to sponsor these children; carried on changing their lives and offering them hope.
We will never know what a legacy he may have left these children. How their lives have been changed by simple sponsorship on a monthly basis. A couple of hundred quid a month to him but a fortune to them and but lives enriched more than we could know.
My Dad is a great man. A kind generous man who loves much and continues to do. I am lucky to be his daughter.
Unfortunately Dad has been feeling really poorly for the last couple of dayys as he has had viral labyrinthitis. It is making him feel really sick every time he moves his head.
I popped down to make him supper and Eliza came with me, in her nightie as she was all ready for bed!
It’s good to see that Dad is totally on brand!
Today my amazing Dad hit the ripe old age of 70 – I still think he is looking pretty young!
We had a little party for him. These days it feels like we should seize every opportunity to spend time together and celebrate the good things.
We had a fantastic night out at a local restaurant who could not have helped us more. Completely amazing…. and this fabulous cake topped off the evening.
So Dad, Happy birthday. You are truly an inspiration and we all love you very much… now onto Uganda for a trip with him and my sister to check out some This is Epic Charity projects. Amazing!