Building Bridges

On top of Stephen’s illness, we also lost Nan in April.  She had been very frail and had lived with us until we moved up North in 2007.  Until then I’d been her carer and the children were very close to her. Towards the end she was bedridden and had dementia so has had no quality of life for the past two or three years.  Sadly, her health, both physical and mental, had been deteriorating for many years and she had suffered a severe stroke in December which had left her almost completely unable to communicate, move or speak.  Although I was very sad that she died, I had already grieved for her as I lost my Nan a long time ago. 

My Mum’s side of the family aren’t very good at relationships.  For reasons unknown to me, the older generation of my family stopped talking years ago.  This had a dramatic effect on my cousins and me as we also lost contact as a result.  We had been very close as children, spending every Sunday and Christmas together, going to Pontins for Easter and sharing many happy, sunny school holidays at the beach, with 7 of us travelling in my aunt’s old Austin to Canvey Island, Chalkwell Bay or Southend on Sea.  Fortunately, after a period of over 15 years, I found a cousin on Facebook about eighteen months ago and we have exchanged emails and kept in touch since then through there.  

Something good has come from Nan’s passing though.  I am now back in touch with and have been able to spend time with my aunt and cousin as well as meeting his lovely partner.  I’m hoping that we can spend a lot more time together once we’ve moved back down south... not only is my aunt an excellent cook but she also makes a mean cake!!!