My Mum

Last week to celebrate Father's Day I told you a bit about my Dad. Since I did that I thought it was only right that I should also tell you about my Mum. I have already told you some stuff about my Mum in other blogs, mainly about all the lovely crafts she does. So here is a bit more about my Mum!

My Mum and I have an awful lot in common. We both love history and visiting museums and heritage sites. Some of my best holiday memories are of me and her going out for the day to some historic location and having a nose about. Once we went to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum of Norfolk Life. We arrived just as it was opening and were some of the last visitors to leave at the end of the day. Even then we had a trouble squeezing in everything we wanted to see! It was a fantastic place to visit and I am so pleased that I got to share it with her. Just the two of us. Whenever I visit somewhere like that I always seem to be one of the last to leave!! I can see now where I get it from!! She is very proud of my work in Museums and I know she always tells all her friends what I am working on.

Another of our shared interests is family history and for the last 8 years my Mum and I have been looking at her side of the family (and when she gets bored of her lot she looks at my Dad's side too!). She discovered that her father and mother had never married and that her father had a wife and children from when he was younger that he never told her about. We have never been able to find out whether he just walked away or whose fault it was which I know really bugs her. She managed to track down his children from this marriage and then their children and grandchildren but sadly despite making content they don't want to know my Mum. Mum finds this very frustrating as all she wants is answers and to try to piece together what happened.  She thinks perhaps the children think she wants money or some sort of relationship but all she wants is information. I know she hopes to get answers one day, but as every lead we get on my Grandfather leads quickly to a dead end or a refusal to talk about him, I do not think it looks likely. On the plus side she has found out a lot of information about her Mum's side of the family and made contact with two of her cousins who she had never meet who were able to give her some fascinating information about that side of the family.

My Mum also loves musicals particularly going to see them in the West End. Before she married my Dad she use to regularly go to see shows at the West End, including ballets and the latest musical spectacular. For my 18th birthday celebrations the two of us went to see We Will Rock You. I had never been to a musical before. It was fantastic and I didn't stop thinking about it for days. It was an amazing experience and again I loved it that I shared it with her. We had also gone out for dinner at Garfunkles before hand and had a great giggle on the train on the way home. This is one of my favourite memories of me and my Mum. I really hope one day I can return the favour and treat her to a few days in London, where we can visit the Museums, do some window shopping and go see a show.

As I have told you in the past my Mum is also into craft. In fact she is a fully fledged crafter with many crafts in her repertoire. They include knitting, cross stitch, tatting, lace making, crocheting, quilting, card making, cake decorating, painting (watercolours mainly), embroidery, and much more. I share her love for card making and I am just starting to learn how to knit, however I do admire the other crafts. All the stuff she makes is stunning and she is a bit of a perfectionist which has both its positives and negatives! She is a member of a number of local craft clubs often going to a few in one day! She has also exhibited her work and done the odd craft fair.

Like my Dad her day job before she retired was also quite creative as she was a curtain maker. In fact she owned her own business and was a successful business woman for over 20 years. First she ran a business with my Dad that had various shops and work rooms across Essex. Then after they divorced she set up a business with Ron and this continued until she retired. I am very proud to say my Mum was a successful business woman. I know it wasn't always easy but she worked incredibly hard and went above and beyond to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. I really admire her for that.

Another thing about my Mum is she had breast cancer a few years ago. She showed immense bravery and strong determination to overcome it. Thankfully she did win the fight, although it took her a while to get over it. When she was diagnosed she made the decision to retire so she could concentrate on her treatment and then the recovery. Since then she has been given the all clear and has been signed off from the hospital. She is now enjoying her retirement although not much resting and relaxing seems to be going on!

Other things about my Mum is she is a maths wizard (not something we share) who can add up quicker than the tills at supermarkets, she doesn't suffer fools and will tell them what she thinks of them if they get on her nerves, she enjoys cooking, and believes that music must be played with the volume turned up (I agree!). She is also incredibly generous, and fiercely protective of me. She can say what she wants to me - and often does-, but anyone else who thinks they can have a go at me, will have to answer to her. My Mum recently became a Parish Councillor and is also the long suffering Secretary of her local Allotment Committee. I get my work ethic from her - "if a job is worth doing, its worth doing well" and also "you should always work to the best of your abilities and to the available resources".

My hatred of early mornings is another characteristic I have inherited from her. We are both night owls. She is also a clean freak, although this is not something I have got from her I do like things tidy. Her house is always spotless and nice smelling. Even when she was ill she made Ron do all the housework as well as looking after her to keep the standards up! I personally think life is too short for housework and there is a need only to do the minimum to keeps things ticking over. My Mum would be disgusted by that and is one of those weirdos who claims housework doesn't take too long if you do it as you go!

So thats my Mum. I am sure there are more things I could tell you about her, but these are what sprang to mind!