May is almost upon us and it’s a hard month for us all in our house. Several years ago dad of 3 lost his grandfather, his father and his favourite aunt all in the same month. This was a devastating time for both of us as I had grown close to both his grandfather and his father.
When dad of 3 and I started dating, I would spend many an hour sat with his grandfather chatting about the old days. He would tell me about his time in the war, something he never discussed with anyone else. He was a Desert Rat and served in Tobruk where he was taken prisoner for the remainder of the war. This is something I felt quite privileged for him to talk about with me. We also used to sit and watch old black and white films together too.
My father in law was a bit of a joker and had a very dry wit and would often joke with me. He used to make me laugh a lot and we enjoyed each others company. Our older two where very young when we lost Grandpa and Great Grandpa but they played a significant part in their lives.
Then six weeks after we lost dad of 3’s father, we lost my gran. Someone I was extremely close to and had spent a great deal of time with growing up. These losses were difficult on their own but somehow worse so close together.
I’ve never been sceptical of spiritualism but I’ve always hoped there was something afterwards. Rowan was born on the first anniversary of my Gran’s funeral, a week or so later I was sat in our sitting room nursing him when something caught my eye. I looked up and for a moment I was absolutely positive that my father in law was sat in the chair in our conservatory doing his Sudoku as he used to enjoy. He looked up and smiled at me and then was gone. I felt strangely calm about the whole incident and I rang my mother in law to tell her what had happened.
Over the years there have been one or two other strange incidents when I’ve thought I’ve seen my gran or father in law. Usually following the arrival of one of our children or a significant event. Each time I have been left feeling comforted, as if they’re watching over me. It’s important to both myself and dad of 3 that we remember our loved ones as often as possible. We regularly talk to the children about them and we have photographs of them on display and encourage the children to identify who they are so they always remember them. This is something we do throughout the year. We have one photograph of Luc with his grandpa, sitting on his lap at around nine months old, Rowan who never met Grandpa always insists it is him and talks about Grandpa as if he has always known him.
What do you do to remember loved ones?
Disclaimer -This is a collaborative post with the Circle however the content is 100% my own.