Family Affairs » death

SAD NEWS

Family Affairs — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:24:00 +0000

My uncle died yesterday. Aged 63. Too young. After a brave battle with cancer. He spent much of his life abroad and consequently his children- my cousins are too far away – we feel very frustrated that we cannot be with them at this time to give them all a huge hug.

My poor mother has lost her younger brother and now has the unenviable task of having to tell her mother (my 95 year old grandmother) that her youngest child has died. How terrible to have to tell a mother about the death of her child, no matter what age they are. She was very close to him and although they lived far apart she talked both to him and about him often.

ANDREA COLLINS SMITH

Family Affairs — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:33:00 +0000

The Punk Rock Mommy. She died today. I am completely lost for words. I want to wrap my arms around an entire family of people that I have never met. But I can’t. Suddenly the world of blogging seems entirely helpless. I am so sorry. I wish there was something I could do.

Her extraordinary legacy lives on. “Be happy now” she said in the post she wanted us to read once she had gone, “because today is all you have”. “Be good to each other” because “life is too short to spend it hurting people and holding on to anger we have for those around us”.

As a mother, I cannot imagine her pain in having to leave her children behind. “My children will move mountains” she said today and I am quite sure they will.

MY GRANDMOTHER

Family Affairs — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:40:00 +0000

My grandmother has died. My father’s mother. At the age of 86. I really loved her and to me she was a complete inspiration. She led such an interesting life, spending a lot of time in Africa. From her I learnt the importance of conversation and the art of always managing to find an excuse to open a bottle of champagne. She was always so interested in other people and knew how to get the best out of them (by getting them and/or herself pissed usually). She was the ultimate “people” person and a party animal. She taught me how important it was to love and to laugh and to enjoy life, even when at times it all seemed a little futile.

I was a little freaked because it turned out that she died about 20 minutes after I had posted my last blog about death and it wasn’t something we knew was going to happen. I told my father that I had just written about a beautiful piece of writing on death and about how you “stand on the shoulders” of those that come before you. He said “if I’d stood on my mother’s shoulders I’d only have been two inches taller and I would have probably fallen off and broken the other arm”.

I feel truly privileged to have been part of her life and extremely lucky to have had her around until now. How lovely for my children to have had a Great Grandmother they will always remember.