Tomorrow marks the secular anniversary of my mother's death. The pandemic has really twisted my sense of time - 2 years ago seems so far away and yet so recent. Many who know me will remember the difficult relationship the two of us had had. I am, however, blessed that in the last 10 years of her life we faced that past together, and began to build something better. We each said what we needed to say, and worked things through. It wasn't easy, but we did begin a process of healing, and I will be glad about that for the rest of my life.
Thus today I can say that I am sad, especially that we haven't been able to share the quotidian events of our lives; small things such as who she'd seen recently, my adventures in jam-making, the latest Strictly news. I wonder what she would have said when I baked a cake for the very first time! She would have enjoyed the rise of Emma Raducanu, another season of the Proms, a trip to the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibit. But I am also grateful that she doesn't have to suffer any more, from the pain of her illness, the threat of Covid-19, and the mess in which her beloved homeland appears to be.
Nu, her memory should be for a blessing. So please do something enjoyable in her name! Eat Chinese food and/or some Cadbury's chocolate (a Caramel for example). Listen to your favourite music (she rather liked this). Watch a favourite movie (Preston Sturges was a screenwriter and director she loved). Let us make the most of what we have!
