After a day off on account of my troublesome hip , I’m back on the road ….
The astute of you will realise, I appear to have started where I normally finish . Correct ..I have …approaching the final week of this challenge I want to keep you on your toes! Today we had canine company in the shape of Raffie – we walked with him last Sunday too, but today he was with his Mum, Hannah. Julia, our other regular walking companion, joined us too .
So this is opposite the pond with the water fowl and fishermen – that bloke’s still in there😜😜- there were still lots of geese in the field , though not as many as our last visit
Another lovely walk – unfortunately my plans for a coffee halfway round were scuppered …the cafe is closed on a Monday ….most unlike Julia and I to walk without sustenance at the end, like a toasted tea cake or bacon butty !
So I’m back on track now with my walking …that’s not to say I didn’t walk at all yesterday…because I did! Yesterday was Mother’s Day …always a difficult day for me and relevant to my charity walk. In 1984, Mother’s Day was the Sunday 25 th March …..and totally unexpectedly three days after , my daughter Emma arrived and so tragically died. What was so poignant for me was that a friend came to see me the next day and brought flowers ( I had had an emergency Caesarian section under general anaesthetic, so was still a bit blurry) . Now I should say that back then, you bought flowers from a florist …not as you do now , more commonly, from a supermarket . Florists stocked their shops seasonally and according to the celebration – so at that time they were full of Mother’s Day flowers and plants galore …..so when my friend Chris went to buy flowers to bring me , all she could get was a Mother’s Day plant. She brought it in to me …..and I have never forgotten her saying she was so sorry she couldn’t get anything else , but that despite the tragedy I was still a Mum so she felt it was appropriate.That meant the world because in fact it was true – I was a Mum, I just didn’t have my baby. What also meant the world ,was her and all my friends coming in to see me, listening and talking endlessly to me. I know how lucky I was ……when Emma’s Dad went back to work , he had to endure people obviously avoiding him because they just didn’t know what to say . Who does …babies aren’t supposed to die , but they do sometimes. So my plea to anyone who is faced with a friend, acquaintance or work colleague who is bereaved in whatever way is please don’t avoid them . It is hard to know what to say …but “I’m so sorry” is all that’s needed.
I apologise for that digression … I want to share happy things but sometimes the sad bits creep in too! So back to yesterday …Mother’s Day …and we have one of our four granddaughters, Aria, with us, along with her Mum. So what to do …we’re going to eat at home ( it grieves me to pay the ridiculous prices restaurants charge , just because it’s Mother’s Day …haha I can hear the DB saying “ How much???? We’re no5 paying that much when you can cook better at home !!”)
Anyway I came up with a really special treat for Aria …something she’s always asked to do when she comes ….I can hear you thinking “ What could it be …a trip to the farm, the trampoline park, the swimming pool ??? No Dear Reader ….litter picking ! and no need to report me to the NSPCC for under age child labour . She was ecstatic when I told her – and was desperate to get going!
So off we went she was in charge of the grabber , her Mum had the purple bag and I had Millie . She filled one bag ,and a quarter of another, in the space of an hour – what people leave behind beggars belief! How happy was she !!
And so begins another week and I thought I’d test your Yorkshire dialect knowledge….until tomorrow..
Camino Romero 