Mother's Day

Families, we all have them, and the dynamics of each individual and their family changes throughout their lifetime. The roles  of mother and father are paramount, and I spoke about my father in my March blog well, as it is Mothers Day here in Spain on the 1st May, I thought I could talk a little about her.

When I was growing up my mother worked in the darkroom of the part of a factory where they checked x-ray film, before it went to hospital. It was obviously paramount for no contamination of the film to occur; in fact, their job was to check for such. Consequently, there were no drinks or food allowed in, though my mother told me of them eating sweets and toffees. Hopefully no one’s x-ray was severely affected!

Later, when I had left school we took evening classes at the local college, one was art and another was Spanish. Even then I loved Spain! Once a month we would go to see a play, or perhaps a new film in London. I worked in London, so my mother would come up on the train and we would go for something to eat and then on to the theatre or cinema.

I went abroad to France and Germany to visit pen friends and as soon as I left school I saved and my cousin and I went on our first package holiday abroad, to Ibiza. My parents realised that they were missing out and started going abroad themselves. However, it took my mother three or four trips on a plane before she opened her eyes. Yes, she spent the whole flight with eyes tightly shut and my dad’s hand being crushed!

I had always loved my mother but it was not until she told me about the first years of their marriage, when she would feed my brother at teatime and then, when my father came home, gave him dinner, saying she had eaten at teatime, which she had not. The strength with which she cared for the family, whilst going without herself, made me admire her so much, and made me determined to be as good a mother, and wife, as she was.

My mother died of cancer when she was only 62, a sad loss, but by that time I had created my own family. From the south-east of England, I moved to the south-west, to Lympstone in Devon to marry. We were blessed with three children, and I trust I was as good a mother as I had determined to be. The birth of a child, your own child, is a wondrous thing. To hold them and care for them becomes the paramount thing in your life. Then as they grow you watch their individual characters build and their personalities develop. Then it is time to let them go as they are now all grown and have made their own family units.

My daughter has three children, my beautiful grandchildren. Being abroad I don’t see them growing up except for pictures on social media. However, my job is to love them, even from afar, and spoil them a little on birthdays and Christmas.

Now I live in Spain, with my husband of one year, in our own little family unit. However, John has many cousins and they all seem to be on Facebook and they have all welcomed me into the Thatcher clan. Also, from the moment my brother and John met, they hit it off and they are the best of friends.

We are currently decorating the house ready for our wedding celebration in July (severely delayed due to covid). We are both looking forward to my children and grandchildren coming out from the UK, and we know it will be a wonderful family reunion, with lots of hugs, kisses and smiles.