Standing up for common sense in New Barnet
Saturday 4 June 2011
Priorities and what’s important in life!
Today I spent the day with my dear old mum who lives in Bristol. She is 91 and has had some health problems recently. It has meant her moving out of sheltered housing and into a nursing home. Having decided to go out for lunch and with the motorway to Weston-super-Mare at a standstill, we decided to go to Portishead instead. There is a little cafe down by the sea front where she enjoyed a lunch of fish, chips with a cup of tea followed by an ice cream. She doesn't eat much but she enjoyed every mouthful! When we get together we always have what we call a family chain. Me, my mum, my partner and my children all sat round the table, joined hands and “sent the love around”. A very simple expression of love but one that reinforces the importance of families. My children love their granny and I just wish we lived closer. After lunch, I sat on the sea front with my Mum holding her hand while she had a snooze and my partner took the children for an excursion on the boating lake. When we got back to my mum’s we wrote all about our day in her visitors’ book. It helps her to remember what has happened. The children drew some lovely cartoons of us all having lunch together and of me and my mum holding hands. A day where there was no mention of Barnet Council, One Barnet or outsourcing, just a whole lot of lovin’. It just shows that the best things in life don't have to cost a fortune.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Glad you had such a lovely day, John.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteWhat made me saddest reading your post was the fact that if you mention sheltered housing or care homes in Barnet, there is inevitably a conversation about the way Barnet Council is damaging peoples lives. When I attended the cabinet meeting a couple of years ago where they passed the policy to scrap wardens a couple of old ladies burst into tears. One said to me "They are bastards" and then apologised for her bad language. The worst thing is that I really think that the people who made the decision really didn't give a shit. But you are right, family must be our first priority. My mum was very difficult in her last couple of years, but I miss her terribly.
Dear John: this made me feel tearful, I must admit - I wish I could go back in time and have a day like that. What more can you do for your mother than give her your love? A timely reminder of what is really important in life.
ReplyDelete