She came in all cold from having a walk with her dogs, Archie and Bailey, and I made her a mug of tea. It was lovely to sit, munch on posh Christmas biscuits, and have a good catch-up! She told me about her interesting job and said she loved living in Cornwall. The winter was especially lovely when all the tourists had gone home!
She stayed until lunchtime, and then it was time for the celebrant to arrive. I had been assigned a woman called Kerri, who was a Humanist celebrant, so she wasn't religious at all. She declined tea and coffee, and she made a start on taking notes about my Dad and the sort of person he was. I tried hard not to get emotional when we were talking, but it was quite difficult. To be honest, I wasn't really keen on her as she didn't seem kind and sympathetic, which is what I'd imagined her to be like. She asked some probing questions, and I felt like I was in therapy at one point! I hadn't realised she would be writing the eulogy as I had wanted to do it myself, but it will save me one job!
I had put off registering my Dad's death until tomorrow afternoon, as I was conscious that we didn't have a lot of time today, so I was relieved about that. When Kerri left, after regaling me with her Florida holiday plans with her extended family, I was able to catch up with the blog and relax for a little while.
At 2pm, I drove to Tesco and picked out a pair of black trousers for Mum and a pretty grey, woollen jumper with pearls radiating from the neckline. I hoped that they would fit and she would wear them to the funeral. I also bought "Thank You" cards for the staff at the care home and Sophie's colleagues who had given us chocolates and wine.
I picked out a sandwich to eat at the care home as I realised I hadn't eaten since having a couple of biscuits with Sue this morning! I drove through Kettering, and the traffic was horrendous as I'd come up against the school run. When I arrived, my Mum was asleep, and she looked awful. She is so thin now, and she seemed very confused when she woke up. Worryingly, she asked where my Dad was and said she had seen him standing in the room a little while ago, which made shivers run up and down my spine. I suspect she has another urine infection, and before I left, I asked one of the carers if they could take a sample to see. It was a thoroughly depressing visit, if I'm honest, and she was very changed from when Sophie and I had seen her last week.
I drove home and wished I could take photos of the trees outlined against the beautiful winter sky. I had barely time to change, spritz some perfume on, and leave again, this time to see my work colleagues at (another) Sue's house, where we were all meeting to have a relaxed evening.
I'd bought two bottles of Fever Tree raspberry and rhubarb tonic in Tesco to drink tonight, along with two boxes of little cakes. At work, Sue has been steadily feeding me (and everyone else), so I wanted to give her a little treat to thank her for her generosity. She isn't working with me now until January (if at all), and I will miss her as she's so lovely and kind.
I arrived at the same time as Sara and Nicola, and we went into Sue's house to see Sheila there, as well as two other women who work closely with us. Sue's dog, Willow, a huge and bouncy chocolate Labrador, was having the time of her life, her tail wagging furiously. She never calmed down all night!
We all sat in Sue's "pub" before it was time to help ourselves to her pasta, salad and garlic bread. It was lovely to sit and relax and chat, mostly about work and what's happening over the coming months.
I left at 7.30pm and trundled home, where I sat with Keith and Sophie and sampled two of my whiskies from the Advent Calendar that Keith had bought for me again this year. I will list the selections separately!
No comments:
Post a Comment