Thursday 28 April 2011

Precious moments.

There is a quietness about her these days. She is so very tiny. I wonder how she stays so strong. We sit in the copse and speak of childhood days.....I hold her hand, I listen. She seems to need to tell me things. She asks about the garden.
She tells me she is proud of me, how pretty I look....a mother always thinks her child is beautiful. There is no love, like a mothers love. We leave the copse. I feel peaceful.......

I see Poppi running towards us. She hugs her Great Grandmother. I hold Mum, to steady her, so that she can enjoy this moment.



The garden is so dry. Yet, everything is so beautiful.

Perhaps it is just that I love it and have a need to do just that.

Mum and I slowly walk the garden. I pop my pretty sun hat on her head.
She laughs and the cockney sparrow puts on her 'posh voice' and puts her nose in the air, as she tries to walk with some elegance. I smile.......my mother has always been able to laugh at herself. I love her for that.

We sit at the table with the rest of the family. Mother made some cakes, she makes wonderful cakes.

I gaze across the garden......my thoughts are far away. It is a wonderful journey we walk with our parents as they age. They have so much to tell, things perhaps, that we did not know. I am spending more time with them.......quality time.



I awake each morning in gratitude for the blessings of another day, for each is a precious gift and a priceless opportunity to live, to laugh and to love.




19 comments:

  1. Oh Cheryl, what a beautiful post. It truly touches my heart.
    Family is so precious, and you've taken the time to spend these cherished moments with them.

    The garden is a perfect place to share, your feelings, your thoughts, your love as you and your mother walk a sacred path.

    Dear little Poppi looks so happy and full of life. She and her generation hold the key to the future.
    Thank you for sharing your special times with us.
    Namaste

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  2. Dear Cheryl, I have been wondering how you were doing...I hope your Mum is doing well. Such a lovely post--yes, time is precious, and you are spending it wisely. I'm sure your Mum is enjoying every minute that you spend with her, and I bet her eyes light up every time she sees Poppi. I know that nothing brings joy to my parents like the happy faces of their great-grandchildren.

    Enjoy your family time and springtime in the garden.

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  3. Hi Wendy, Thank you for your kind words and support. I treasure both. My mother has good and bad days...we are walking an unknown path. She now weighs just seven stone and is a shadow of her former self. She does not wish to make anymore trips to the hospital. I honour and respect her decision. She knows she has my love and support. Her spirit is strong......my niece is due to give birth to her third great grandchild. She is in Australia, and plans to bring baby to UK at Christmas....mother wants to see her third great grandchild. I feel sure she will! Her determination is amazing.

    Forgive me for not getting in touch. I have been so busy with family issues I barely have time for the garden. Will contact you soon.

    Love and light.

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  4. Hi Rose, my mother has good and bad days. She has changed considerably during these last few months. She has refused anymore hospital appointments, she is tired and too old to be pulled around. I understand, and respect her decision. She has lost a lot of weight and weighs just seven stone now. To be truthful, I do not recognise her, she looks so changed.

    I love to take my parents out when they feel well enough. They are also spending more time in the garden with me. The days have been warm, and they just enjoy sitting and watching me work. These are precious times, and I intend to make the most of them.

    Hope all is going well with the wedding plans, graduation and the expected little one.

    Many blessings to you and yours.

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  5. Hi Cheryl,

    I am glad you are managing to spend more time with your mum, especially when the weather has been so nice for the past month; let's hope it continues into the coming months.

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  6. Hi Cheryl....Miss your wonderful posts... they make me think about how the hurried and overwhelming chores have made me feel, and you words made me stop and think about how fleeting life itself is, and how I need not to let precious moments pass me by !! The chores will be there forever, they never stop, but the life of our precious ones can be over any time...young or old!!

    Wonderful post, and your photo and words a beautiful!! ♥ Grace

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  7. Dear Cheryl - your images are beautiful illustrations for a most touching post. What a wonderful portrayal of your mother as both frail and a tower of strength and wisdom. May you have many more moments together
    Laura

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  8. Cheryl, it is good to hear you are having some quality time with your Mum and Poppi. I think we are getting all your rain. Hang in there. The winds will change and bring you and your garden some rain...soon I hope.

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  9. A very touching and thoughtful post Cheryl. Your Mum is very lucky to have such a sensitive and caring daughter. I am sure the love you have for each other will sustain you on the more difficult days.

    Lovely photos, Poppi looks so full of vigour and energy...life follows a natural pattern, it carries on...

    Take care Cheryl, I think of you often :)

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  10. Liz. thank you. The weather has been perfect. I have to say though I could do with some rain for the garden. It is as dry as a bone. We have not had any rain to speak of, March and April have been the driest on record, in this part of the country.

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  11. Grace, my friend, I have learned to ignore housework (unless it gets really bad) and put those I love and the love of the garden first.
    Walking the path to old age, and following my mother and father along lifes road, I realise that life is so short. I have so much I need and want to do.......I intend to fulfill as many hopes and dreams as I can.

    Tku as always for your lovely comment.....

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  12. Tku Laura, I appreciate your words of kindness.
    I hope also to have many more meaningful times with my mother....

    Have a lovely weekend.

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  13. Tku Lisa,

    With regard to the rain, we have not had any for weeks and weeks. I have cracks in the lawn (you would think it was August, not the end of April)

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  14. Tku Jan, your kind words always mean so much to me. I know you send them with sincerity.

    Seeing my mother and Poppi together is just wonderful. She gives Mum's spirit a lift, as does little Riley. Life is so fleeting, so very precious.

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  15. Hi Cheryl,

    Yep it's been very dry here too. I think it's only rained twice in April... I've had to water the garden on a number of occasions now, mainly to ensure the plants I've put in or moved do not die.
    Btw, a lot of seedlings are coming up in the borders, I hope some of them will be the seeds you sent such as Corn Marigold!

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  16. Hi Liz, I have had to do the same. Dragging the hose out at this time of year is unusual. Like you I am only watering new plants or those that have been moved.....

    Hope the corn marigold appear, they attract a lot of insects, especially hoverflies and the small copper butterfly.

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  17. Dear Cheryl,

    I have come to this post numerous times. I have a full heart. Thank you for sharing this part of your life. I feel your words very deeply, the ones you write as well as the ones you do not. I feel the joy and the sadness...I know this poignancy.
    You are living the maid, the maiden and the crone....all of our aspects you celebrate....you are honoring life.
    I remember my Mother's end days.

    Poppi, your Mum and you.... mentoring, teaching, accepting life on life's terms. Slowly with patience and loving care you are teaching how to care for "Grandmother." You are teaching the wisdom of the bee and the seed. You are teaching by example how to dance. These are the full hearted days of your life; You have Daughter, Sister, Wife, Aunt, Mother, Grandmother days. In the middle of all the comings and goings you find the time to care for the gardens, to feed the birds, butterflies and the bees. May they fill you with energy.
    You are the dearest of friends....thank you.
    Loving hugs to you and your Mum. Open arms to your gardens. May you have nourishing May rains.
    May you and your beloved have the fullness of May.
    Sherry, who dances with the butterflies

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  18. Dear Sherry, Thank you for your kindness and support. Your words made me cry.
    Of course, I knew you would understand. I have listened very carefully to your words these last few years. I have taken on board your wisdom and kept it for these up down days. I thank you for your guidance and most of all the love I feel in your comment.

    Namaste

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  19. Always.
    Happy May Day.
    Sherry

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