Categories: uncategorized
Date: 04 July 2006 22:52:02
We are in the middle of one... we have had a relaxing few days so far, revisiting The Spouse™'s childhood haunts, on a much larger budget (which would not be hard), and with better weather (according to him, it rained every day of every holiday when he was a child. This says a fair amount about where his father's family are from, but also about him). I am a little pink, and we both had a huge, very expensive meal for his birthday yesterday.
We arrived at my mother's en route to London for the next leg of the holiday to some bad news - my one remaining grandparent, my father's father, died yesterday. He was 97 - a good age - but it was still a bit of a shock because although he had some long term health problems they didn't seem acute and he had been taken into hospital yesterday morning but had been complaining that there was no need for him to be there, and where was his crossword?
This is a bit of a repeat of two years ago when his wife died and we all rushed down to where they lived to the funeral; he'd moved away as their house was too big for him but will be buried in the same place. My brother doesn't think he can make it but I am going to try and press him very hard to do so as he didn't go to either my grandfather's wife's funeral or, a little longer ago, either of our other set of grandparents' funerals. He is very busy and his life is very full, but this is true of the rest of us too.
The next leg of our holiday is in fact going to be visiting him and his family in Spain; he rang tonight about our grandfather, and also to ask if I'd be godmother to his second daughter. I would be honoured, I said; we'll have a small ceremony while we're over there. But he's not sure if there will be a priest, or if there will be any actual service. Hmm. Not sure what I'll be, but it may not be a godmother.