On the Eve of All Souls, grateful thoughts about my adoptive mother who died in September. . .

Twenty-one thank-yous

for accepting a ten-week old baby at three day’s notice

for encouraging me to read when I could barely walk

for informing my Infant School that I should decidely not be limited to Janet & John

for leaving me undisturbed when my nose was in a book

for letting me seek treasures in the ploughed field next door

for introducing me to Mozart, musical theatre and Tom Lehrer

for frequently dispatching me to my Nanna’s or my Grandma Tate’s

for sending me to Auntie Shirley Redpath’s at Scarborough for many a holiday

for taking me to Morfa Nefyn in North Wales by the sea

for allowing me to go to work with my Dad in the truck

for taking me on cruise ships sailing the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the Atlantic

for your knitting, sewing and crochet, even the hat that held my wedding veil in place

for teaching me etiquette – I can still balance peas on the back of a fork

for braised steak and onions, lemon meringue pie and cut-and-come-again cake

for shared sessions of shouting answers at University Challenge and many games of Scrabble

for evenings spent critiquing the costumes and historical accuracy in period dramas

for permitting me to lurk in the local library whenever possible after school

for persuading Dad to create a study bedroom for me

for tolerating my hieroglyph wallpaper and Nefertiti bedside lamp

for free rein in what I read

for leaving me your treasured jewels – a reminder of your elegance

may you rest in peace

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Image by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash