Sunday 6 July 2014

A stroll along memory lane.


 Persuading my Mum to leave the house is difficult these days.   Her last trip out was several weeks ago to the hospital.   Thursday I managed to convince her that a ride around the countryside would do her the world of good.   She eventually agreed.    Mum was an evacuee during the war, she stayed in a farmhouse near Goudhurst.    She remembered the village well and told me it had not changed much.    The only thing she could see that had changed was the addition of a fountain to the village pond:)
 Along the lanes to Sissinghurst, home to the world famous gardens.    Only a short drive from home, I am almost embarrassed to admit I have never been........
 Mum loved the penny farthing ......she thought it a lovely feature.
 Smarden  is a neighbouring village, and one that I love.    Mum and I sat by the lakes and watched the dragonfly.   She talked about her time away.....missing her mother.....she opened up her heart.    I learnt a lot about my mother this day.
 As we drove home we stopped and looked and some of the lovely period properties.   Kent villages are full of them..........
 This is one of my favourite properties.   Around 800 years old, well maintained, with the addition of a beautiful garden.    Each year the people of Smarden open up their gardens to the public.     I was fortunate to view this garden several years ago.   It has a stream flowing through it.........it was an enchanting space and one that I would love to visit again.
We made our way home and I prepared lunch for us both.   Mum managed to walk around the garden with help........this is her favourite clematis, I must say it has been amazing this year.   The thought of cutting it back is daunting, but lets not worry about that now :)

Mum was tired by the time I dropped her home.   I phoned her the next day and she told me she had the best nights sleep since father passed away.............


9 comments:

  1. So glad your Mum agreed to go out with you. Glad too that you both enjoyed the outing and that she was able to talk to you more easily away from home. Enjoy her reminiscences whilst you can I still miss my mother and there are just so many things I wish I had thought to talk about with her now that it's too late. Of course she mightn't have wanted to answer my questions but I realise too late that I never really thought of her as having a life that didn't include me which of course is not true! Lovely area you live in and your photos are beautiful.

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    1. Thank you Jane. I remember on a previous post you made the same suggestions. I listened. I spoke to my father about many things before he died, and now I am doing the same with my mother. Thank you for your wise words, I am grateful to you.......

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  2. Good for you and even better for Mum. Maybe next time you encourage her to get out she will be more apt to go. What a beautiful drive. I am glad you shared some of it with us. I am seeing parts of England through the Tour de France. Did you know they were riding through England? I was so surprised when we watched some of the tour on tv. I was wondering if they will be passing through your area on the way to France? You might have an army of bicyclists coming through your area. It would be fun to watch. I too would love to tour the gardens in your area. Someday maybe. :) One could always dream.

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    1. Hi Lisa,

      Glad you enjoyed it. Yes I did know the Tour de France were riding through England. The tour will not be coming through our area. Cycling is very popular here. Often when I walk Nella I will meet 20 or 30 riders cycling along the lanes.

      I love private gardens........all the funds raised go to charity. We paid five pounds and visited seven private gardens. What great value?

      If you don't dream they cannot come true :)

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  3. Hi Cheryl
    Thank you for the lovely tour around your area - you are so lucky to have all these lovely places on your doorstep. Glad that you Mum enjoyed it too I always enjoy listening to old folks memories - it was a different world then. My Mum died when she was only 56 so our time together was cut drastically short and I never really had time to find out about her early memories but I have kept in contact with her brother who has sent me photos of her right from when she was a baby - I am so grateful to him for filling me in on all the things I never knew about her. I still miss her and my father every day, I even dream about them quite a lot. You never know how much you will miss someone when they are gone from your life.

    Make the most of your Mum whilst you still have her.

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  4. Hi Elaine,

    How very touching that you still dream about your parents. You must miss them.
    You are fortunate to have an uncle that cares, and shares childhood memories etc with you.
    Your mother will be forever young. I have a friend who lost her mother when she was 15, she always says to me 'my mother is forever young.' That is so true, I knew I would miss my father, but did not realise just how much until he passed away.

    Tku for sharing with us.........

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  5. What a special treat to take your mom to the village. And how interesting for her to recall the days of the war. Such sad and wonderful memories to pass on. I know you will treasure this day.

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  6. What a lovely, healing day that was. I know all too well those sleepless nights afterwards….

    Thanks for sharing this gentle day with us, your Mom's memories and your new ones. So nice you had this time together to talk and listen with your heart.
    Blessings

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