Sometimes the curve balls life throws at you can have devastating consequences. The last few weeks have been unpleasant for my family, to say the least! For the umpteenth time I have proof that something that I have never worried about, or ever given a second thought to, has happened, suddenly and out of the blue!
When I was growing up my mother used to say ‘Nothing lasts forever, not the good times nor the bad, but when you do have good times, make them really good!’ I found this quite a negative statement and couldn’t relate to it until I left home and went into the real world.
I am very grateful that I don’t have a crystal ball! I would hate to have known the rocky paths I would blindly follow and the numerous ‘bad’ decisions I would make. I have also made some really good decisions and I appreciate and value these.
So, the last few weeks have been awful. I have battled through a maze, trying to find a tunnel, any tunnel that had a tiny speck of light at its end. The heartbreak a mother feels watching her child and family go through purgatory is not one that can be imagined, and neither should it!
I couldn’t write in my blog, it was enough just to get through a day focussing on helping and supporting those I hold most dear. I remember when my son had pneumonia. He was a little boy, about four and they didn’t have any room in the children’s ward so put him in with men. I sat at his bedside as he slept and would have given anything to take away his pain. If only I could have changed places with him! I would have done that in a heart beat!
I have been back to that place many times over the years, for both my son and daughter. No matter how old your child, you never stop being their mother! All that happens is your love for your children expands to include their families and spouses.
But last night, through the maze, I found a tunnel. There is a candle burning at its end. I can see it flickering and I am going to focus on that candle and will it to grow and become a bright shining light.
If the saying is true that love conquers all, let this be the proof! Also, let us all hope and pray for a cure for all mental illnesses. I shall continue to support and try and raise as much money as possible so that our brilliant scientists around the world can work together and banish this hideous scourge forever!
Amen👠
Jenny Burrell 