Goodbye, goodbye

We're moving house and Fixit's mother died on Mother's Day. There is so much I want to say about both these events, but no time to say it properly.

Also, just to add to the list of things we're dealing with at present : Fixit had knee surgery, to repair ancient damage caused by the great motorcycle accident of 1993. Surgery was much needed and will improve everything for him, so it's great news, just it wasn't the best month for him to be incapacitated, however briefly, and he really hasn't had a cushy recuperation. He's had to power through, but he is coming along nicely.

Our house is in chaos, and bit-by-bit we dismantle our life here.  We are very, very happy to leave this horrible house, and can't wait to start life again in the new house and closer-to-everything suburb. But moving is a SLOG.

Last night Fixit pulled down the bunk bed he'd built all those years ago, and the cat was adorably confused. Cherub was Fixit's helper for the bunk dismantling job, and was waiting excitedly for Climber to return home from soccer training so he could show him the new sleeping arrangements. He's so very, very cute.

As for Fixit's mum: she had had an awful run of health for the last two years, spending large chunks of it in hospital or in a wheelchair, and the root of it was the heart damage she'd sustained from the heart attack a year or so ago, but with so much else going on with her health (diabetes, broken leg, broken hip, chronic arthritis) no-one had quite picked this up. So it wasn't until she was admitted to hospital last week to try and sort it all out that they realised how bad things were for her, heart wise, and at that point they said there's nothing we can do, let's move her to palliative care so she's comfortable. That was Wednesday, she died Sunday. It was very quick. In between, she slept. We went in as a family to see her on Sunday afternoon, and we told her we loved her and said good-bye and she did respond, but she was beyond talking or eye contact then. We came home for dinner, and as we ate, Fixit's brother rang and said come back now. She was gone 5 minutes before he made it. We're all so sad. The boys, shocked by how terrible she'd looked in the hospice and struck by the grief in the faces of the adults, were distraught and we cried and cried. Fixit stayed at the hospice and mourned with his family.

At home, we lit a candle. Rest in peace Elaine. You were a loving and hard-working mother to Fixit, a kind and generous mother-in-law to me, and a loving and indulgent grandparent to Climber and Cherub.  We will miss you.