After my last posts about my mother's passing I am slowly getting back to some kind of routine and normal life again - does that sound cold? It is certainly not meant to be but the last few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, with Sofia's birth and Ma's death in the space of a month, and now after a week of bereavement leave from work I felt ready to go back. There are good things about the public sector besides job security - the 5 day leave for a parent or very close relative is so needed - I wouldn't have been able to cope with going back any sooner.Yesterday was the hurdle I was most dreading - what would I do with my day now that the focus of visiting Ma in my lunch hour and after work was gone? I braced myself to visit the unit where she'd lived out her last three and a half years in St. Joseph's Hospital in Dungarvan and it was not as bad as I'd thought - the staff were so welcoming and genuinely warm, and they made collecting her trinkets so much easier than I'd anticipated.
I will treasure these - a family photo and presents we brought from our trips to Spain in recent years, including snow globes of the Black Madonna of Montserrat and La Sagrada Familia, and her flamboyant beads - she loved costume jewellery and always festooned herself with colourful necklaces. There are great memories and we'll always be grateful for those - and bereavement is a long slow process that can't be hurried - I know it'll be easier to manage with all the support and love of my dear hubby and the family - where would I be without you all?
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