Its a rather emotional time of the year for two reasons ..
17 years ago my dad went on his holy pilgrimage to Mecca, but it was a strange turn of events.
Firstly , because it was something he planned at the last minute, a spur of the moment, unlike the norm where this special event of the Islamic faith is planned months in advance. Secondly , the holy day fell on a Friday that year ... but it was also the last day of his life.
To say that the news of his sudden death was a shock is without doubt an understatement. But while mourning his death we could not help but feel amazed how fate had drawn him to that holy place in the way that it did.
I regret that i didnt travel in the car with him to the airport, i didnt even wake up in the early hours to see him off that Sunday morning. Perhaps it was some consolation that we were on good talking terms in those later years of his life.
2 years ago today we sat patiently in the hospital ward where my mom was being treated for cancer. It had been a very dificult 5 months with her health slowly deteriorating and various treatments, appointments , consultations, etc. We were waiting for the senior consultant to update us of what was going to happen next. When we got told the dreaded news that she wasnt going to make it before the end of the year my heart sank. My mom showed amazing strength as i sat there weeping, telling me to remain positive. It was strength of a nature i'd never seen her show. I washed my face and approached the doctor as he was leaving the ward. I thanked him for all he had done to treat my mom and her cancer. I guess when he'd said "before the end of the year" we all started thinking that she would be around for at least a few months, but sadly it was only 4 weeks later when the angels took her away, and now she's back with my dad.
Looking up at the sky and swear i can see them up there having some silly row like your typical married couple :) ... Dad smoking his pipe , mum telling him what a stubborn silly old fool he can be at times ;)
A typical Friday afternoon rush on the motorway as i was heading back from London , and to top it all we had the usual dosage of british rain! The whole experience only dampened my mood further (excuse the pun) - yeah today im a crabby brit who had to drop his nearest and dearest off at the airport so that she could catch her flight back to MN.
Still, as a friend once said about me, im very positive, and apparently i'd never come back in a second life as a battery cos id be positive both ends ( i think they meant that as a compliment!)
But anyway, my positive side began to switch itself on as i was driving back, reminiscing about the last week, having a quiet laugh at the way she says some words in that Minnesota accent, and those last moments with her in the departure lounge trying to give her some positive thoughts and cheering her up with my cheeky humour as she was dampening my shoulder with her tears. I got a text from her as she was boarding the plane , i wished her a safe journey , with the promise that i'll see her again, soon :)
I have to admit it felt strange coming back to an empty house but my emotional silence turned to smiles when i noticed that yet again she'd left half of her bathroom stuff behind (they smell quite nice actually, the lotions, shower gels etc, jeez dare i use them myself and risk being told that i "smell like a tart" ?)
And if that wasnt bad enough , as i was making the bed i noticed that her nightie was still among the unmade quilt and bed sheets! Oh dear , LOL , someones gonna be "nightieless" tonight.
And for those of you about to suggest i should maybe wear it myself i can only say that id lurrrrve to ... but i think a quieter colour would suit me better ;)
Good job my dear old mom isnt still alive today, she'd probably have made me catch a plane and take it back to her personally!
Im going to "prematurely" wish you all a happy July 4th weekend being as some of you will be going away :)
I have always had a soft spot for your wonderful country and would definitely class it as my favourite holiday (whoops, i mean vacation) venue, and one day i really must venture a bit further west (but not too far , lets say midwest?) and say hello (or should it be "holla") to you good folks in gabster land. Over this side of the pond Im planning my own little celebration next week with my favourite gabster, she told me last night that I have the patience of a saint (we brits love flattery hehe)
Strangely it was only the 2nd time I'd ever been to an open air concert (pretty amazing considering i've been to more concerts than i've had hot dinners)
Tuesday 24th June 2008 at the Ricoh Arena , Coventry was the night Bon Jovi ruled and kicked big time ass!
Highlights of the evening included being "chaufferred" to the event by kid bro and his partner (jeez i dont even know if theyre married yet lol), courtesy of the free ticket that theyd given me. It was quite funny listening to them having a pop at each other (yep theyre as happy now as they were 10 yrs and 3 kids after they first met) she certainly didnt miss a trick every time me and bro were having a private "lads chat" , that woman can hear a pin drop a mile away! Naturally i was taking his side (well its brotherly love aint it :)
Halfway through the concert a woman standing a few paces to my left decided to puke up whatever she'd been eating and drinking, and while everyone else was looking at her if she had come from another planet i looked at the "masterpiece" she'd created on the ground and muttered something along the lines of "jeez is that the best picture you can draw? My 3 yr old niece could do better than that with her crayons"
Regarding Jon and the boys , no marks for guessing how the girls were swooning when he came on stage and belted out the hits, including all the biggies - You Give Love a Bad Name, Bad Medicine, Living On A Prayer, etc . It was only at the encore of Wanted Dead or Alive that the rain started to pour and i thought "feck! my washing is still hanging out on the line!"
I cant say much for the New Jersey accent but these boys sure rocked the house! :)
Now, i have 3 weeks for my hearing to recover before the next one - Def Leppard and Whitesnake , Liverpool 15th July !
