Having lunch with your daughter is nothing unusual for all the mothers I know. But for me, who has worked most of my adult life and whose daughter lives hundreds of miles away, this is a very special occasion!
We had arranged to buy her and her husband’s birthday presents, have lunch and visit my mother. We managed two out of three, which, for my daughter with her frenetic lifestyle, is not bad!
Let me give you a taste of her last few days. She manages her husband’s surgery (he’s a Clinical Psychologist) and keeps horses, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats. On Monday night, a bank holiday in the UK, her puppy swallowed a sock! It was 10:30 pm. She rang all the out of office vets but none were available. Finally she contacted a vet in Thirsk which has a regular television programme and they agreed to treat the puppy. An hour later a long, stretched sock (the other dogs had been trying to prise it from the puppy) was produced and promptly discarded!
On Tuesday morning my daughter noticed her favourite ewe was having difficulty moving and breathing. I’ll spare the detail but maggots had attacked the poor animal and she was in obvious distress. She was loaded into the Land Rover and taken to the local vet. This unusually very hot and now wet summer has created its own problems and this is one of them.
Yesterday morning another ewe had fallen victim to maggots but could be treated in the field. This had caused the delay in my daughter’s departure, hence achieving two out of our three planned activities. The birthday gifts became cash to spend when time allowed!
We drove to Chester, one of our favourite cities and had our lunch. I introduced my daughter to a chai latte, we popped to the local supermarket to collect our parking ticket and made our way to my mother’s care home.
Mum was in the sitting room watching a dance video. She was loathe to leave, paying us minimal attention. The activities manager turned off the television (her suggestion) so we were able to take Mum to her room!
My daughter hadn’t seen her grandmother for a while. Mum recognised her face but couldn’t place her. This is normal as I am often introduced as her mother! But her behaviour changed. Mum became very animated and wanted to dance. Once more I played ABBA (its the only music I have on my phone!) and this is where she began to ‘show off ‘ by twisting and tap dancing, along with other steps and moves!
A short while later the care manager and her assistant joined us in Mum’s room, this time to meet my daughter. They have now met both my children, which is good because it helps to build a complete picture of her loving and caring family. My daughter shared some amusing memories of her time spent with her grandmother in South Africa. We left the care home still chuckling and feeling very positive. This visit, as with my son’s, was significantly better than I could ever have imagined!
I have two wonderful, caring children. I am very lucky. The down side is that I can’t see them as regularly as I would like. But that is life. It means that the times we do spend together are so special. Quality over quantity!
August had been a glorious month. We’ve finally had a summer, I am no longer cooped up in a stuffy hot office and I have seen both my children. A jolly good month indeed!👠
Jenny Burrell 