Life goes on...

It's cold and a little snowy outside so a fine time to sit down on the sofa with my laptop and check out the blogmosphere and write a post too.  It's been quite a week this week, work is just crazy busy and will be for the next week or so.  Our workloads are ever increasing in the wonderful world of Primary care.

It's been a bit of a strange old week, at work I had to do some home visits to my housebound patients which often gets me thinking and I feel sad at the way some people have to live.   Going to Nursing Homes is rarely an upbeat and happy experience.  It  gets me thinking of thinking of the future and some not so nice thoughts but we'll leave those thoughts alone for now I think.  On top of that it was my aunties funeral last Wednesday.  So today I'm definitely heaving a big sigh of relief that it's the weekend.

Wednesday was a sad day but my Aunt had a good send off.  It's my Mum's side of the family who we generally have less to do with.  Not for any particularly reason but we have always been closer to my Dad's side of the family.  It seems that's often the way when talking to friends, people are closer to one side or the other.  It was lovely seeing them though and not for the first time reminds me that really there's a whole part of my life or family history that I don't really know much about and before it's too late I need to find out more!  Over the last year I have found out about cousins that  I didn't actually know about, strange huh? They are living in Australia.

Both my parents were born in India, as was my aunt (she was married to my mum's brother).  Two weeks before she died with all her children (5 of them) and one of her Grandsons, she travelled to India, to show them where her and their father came from.  Sadly my aunty, didn't completely enjoy the trip and how she made it through the trip and the return journey, God only knows.  She was very, very sick and as soon as they got home she went straight into hospital and sadly never made it home.  She was diagnosed with cancer last August, it was always known that it was an inoperable cancer and she'd reached the point where she and her body had had enough.  Although brought up Catholic, I am not practising but her religion and faith got her through this time, which we can be nothing but grateful for.

Aunty Alma gave her children some wonderful memories going with her family to India and the opportunity to see where their parents grew up.   It is something I would love to do and hope to do in the future.  I would love to do it with my parents but unfortunately unless anything drastically changes, none of us can afford it any time soon.  

My cousin did a wonderful eulogy for her mum, talking about her childhood and a little of her life.  It wasn't an easy one and her life growing up in Calcutta was very different from anything any of us have experienced.  The same goes with my parents childhoods. My parents have some wonderful stories of growing up in India.  They and my aunts and uncles are the last of a generation and once they have gone their knowledge and history will be gone forever which is why I have to get my dad writing it all down this year and do a little family tree investigating.  

It's a funny old thing.  I rarely saw my aunt but I still felt close to her and I made sure to see her regularly over the last few months which you could say was too little too late.  Some deaths do affect you more then others and this one definitely has.  I as are her family, are now grateful that she is now at peace and no longer suffering.

So here's to you Aunty Alma, sleep peacefully now. I really hope you are at peace wherever you are, perhaps nagging Uncle Raymond.

To Aunty Alma