A Tribute To Our Grandma ❤️

Life has its ups and downs and sadly at the start of December our grandma passed away. Writing this tribute has taken me longer than I planned, it’s been difficult to write.

We’ve put some favourite photos of grandma together. We’re celebrating Mother’s Day today here in the UK and today felt like a special day to share this tribute.

Grandma’s funeral took place at the end of January, it was an incredibly hard day, but we spent the day all together celebrating her life and I find peace in knowing grandma is reunited with grandad now.

Her spirit and kind nature lives on in us all, both my maternal grandparents have passed away now, but the special memories we created all together are forever cherished.

The anniversary of our grandad’s passing was approaching and as we prepared for Christmas, grandma passed away peacefully at home. Grandad’s passing was sudden too and grandma was so strong dealing with losing her beloved husband and life partner.

All of our lives changed suddenly in 2021, my parents became carers and dedicated time and love to look after grandma. She was appreciative of this, living at home was her wish.

One blessing that came of this difficult time, was how much time we all spent with grandma in her final year. We’d go down and see her at lunchtime on days off and we’d always have a good chat and several laughs. It was lovely to see her smile through the tough time she was facing. It was rewarding seeing grandma’s face light up when we popped round to see her, I know it meant the world to her.

Grandma was so bowled over with the tribute we wrote for grandad and I was really touched by the kind words and love received from everyone.

Grandma as a child with her mum, older brother and sister

Our grandma lived an amazing life. She was the fifth child of nine children and named after her mother. She spent a lot of her younger years travelling and living in different countries around the world. She was born in the same town as me, but as her father was a major in the army, the whole family travelled around. At 6 months old, Grandma lived in India until she was 9, then after that she lived in West Germany, before settling back in the UK in her late teens.

Grandma’s dad was Scottish, I’ve been to Scotland only once before and can’t wait to explore more of a place where my family comes from and somewhere I loved on my first trip. My great great-grandfather is listed in the fallen soldiers of Gallipoli, in the war museum in Edinburgh Castle.

My grandma and grandad met at the local Hippodrome, my grandad asked grandma to dance and that’s how came to meet. It’s funny, because grandad had gone to another dance earlier in the evening and there had not been any girls there! So him and his friend then moved onto the Hippodrome. It’s lucky they did!

They always said they both saved each other, as my grandad lost his dad to lukekemia when my grandad was 21 and my grandma lost her mum suddenly aged just 19. I couldn’t imagine losing either of my parents, at that young age it was extremely hard for them.

Grandma would always talk to me about the food she ate whilst in India. She’d love hearing me talk about the Indian food one of my friends made me. Grandma is one of my kitchen inspirations as she was a great baker. I used to make jam with my grandparents and grandma would bake delicious pies, one year we were welcomed home from holiday to a freshly baked apple pie.

In my grandad’s tribute, I mentioned as a young child I would go to my grandparents and they’d cook me tasty lunches. We received a card from one my mum’s cousins and she even remembered eating the same meal as a child too! Rachel wrote a whole long list of lovely memories of her auntie and uncle, which touched us all.

Like Rachel, we have fond memories of family picnics at the seaside and meals all together. They loved to take us down to the coast and spend a carefree afternoon by the sea. For me, the seaside is where I go for some escapism, relaxation and a way of remembering those happy times.

My grandparents with my sister Becca and myself

On this Mother’s Day, I’m celebrating all the wonderful women in my life and remembering those who have passed.