Today is Friday. I know because I just got a reminder come up on my ipad that we have dinner at Mums. After Mum was ill a couple of years ago we took a night each to be with her to check in, and do dinner if she needed it. It was handy there was seven of us. I chose Friday night and Mum was quickly well, but Gilbert and I decided to carry on our Friday night dinners there. It gave us a definite point of contact. Our life had got so busy, while Mum was now less mobile, gardening wasn’t easy, she found TV boring and poor vision meant she found sewing etc difficult and I’m sad to say sometimes I forgot about her:(
She absolutely loved these Friday evenings and would phone Thursday and Friday mornings excited planning if we’d get takeaways or I would take a crock pot that had simmered at work all day, or she would cook. We invited others and it took on new dimensions with different guests. Whatever happened, it was usually a lot of laughs. It was here we first talked about our plans to travel to Croatia and further afield. Where Tony and Duane announced they would meet us in Croatia and eventually, to Mums absolute delight, where Lindy also said she would jump in too with Marinka and Holly.
“You have to go to Ireland in July”, Mum said “the weathers terrible the rest if the year” and shared her diaries and maps that were now more than 20 years old. “Mum this is wayyyy too old and we use GPS now!”
“Just take them” she said, “they might come in handy”
I laughed, but what a delight to find little notes and comments when I looked at them before leaving. In the ‘rough guide to Ireland’ she had noted things in the margin and bookmarks for Carrigafoyle and any mention of the O’Connor name. Her diary is especially special.
At this stage I’m leaving this reminder on my ipad so that every Friday I remember Mum and our Friday night dinners…no matter how busy the days get, it brings me back around the table with Mum and I can’t help but smile. Great memories! She loved gardening and this is a pic I would’ve sent her.
Grandpas Figs 