Two Drifters

^24 year old me with my Dad. I married Andrew in the Kildara Chapel, Malvern, Kildara was my secondary school. Sadly, the Chapel, Convent and school were all demolished a few years later. Well…this month has also been dominated by my Dad’s recent death. I typed “death,” thought it sounded too harsh, erased it, typed “passing” and then thought…Dad didn’t pass (by)…that sounds transient, like he passed by on the way somewhere. Maybe that’s what has happened..I don’t know.  I erased “passing” and typed “death” again.  More concrete; absolute. Final. As is my stage of life, the sadness of Dad’s death has been coupled with the excitement of my eldest child who has relocated to Oxford to study an MBA at Oxford University (very proud parents!) and the happiness of his fiancée who has joined him for the year. We will see them both next month. Also occurring was the happy event of our youngest’s 21st (and her long-time boyfriend’s as well). G’s 21st was sandwiched in amongst funerals b...

  ^My Dad as a young man My final words last month, “Looking forward to a quieter September” ended up meaning  something different than I had intended. First of all, we celebrated my Mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. Twenty-one of us had a lovely  lunch at Crown and then another, smaller lunch on her actual birthday. After a recent health  scare for her and a couple of nasty surgeries, it was lovely to all gather and to celebrate her  life together. #Trigger warning re death# My Dad, who received a terminal cancer diagnosis a year ago ended up going to hospital by  Ambulance on 10 September with Covid. That became palliative care and, on 27 September, he passed away with me at his bedside. There is a lot more to say but I will leave  that for now whilst I process his passing and the wider family angst and drama that has surrounded it. Suffice to say that I spent 17 days in The Alfred Hospital. Dad never complained but he had  good and bad days. He wa...