hi...
we're back...shattered...very sad...in shock...but somewhere inside i am feeling blessed...
blessed that such a wonderful man gave me my husband...
such an inspiring man gave me a man like him...to have my children with...
some times...just as you think you have a handle on a *tiny* part of life...
just when you think you are getting the bigger picture...
life throws you a massive curve ball...
these last few weeks have forced us to look at life in a way we perhaps didn't...
a way you don't when life is just cruising along...
i have never felt so protective of my husband...
i can't begin to describe the grief we had to carry him through to get him on a plane & to get him the 12,000 miles home to his father...
the divide between australia & england seemed to grow as we flew closer...
my father-in-law David passed away so suddenly, that all we could focus on was getting home to say goodbye...
getting home to spend some time sitting by his bed...
children are wonderful in times of grief...
they have no expectations...of themselves nor anyone around them...
they cry & then they laugh...
they were a very lovely focus amongst the incredibly hard days...
they love with no thought of the outcome...
they just do...
he called me *lovely*...
when he offered me tea...it was *a cup of tea lovely?*...
when he offered me a glass of wine...*a wine lovely?*...
maybe he called many a girl in his life lovely...i don't know...& i don't care...
he inspired my husband to be a loving father...
he inspired my kids to ask endless questions & to always have *time* for new friends...new people...
life to him was to be taken up each & every day...
to be enjoyed whole heartedly & to be savoured...
he will be missed more than anyone can yet think about...
so now, as we return to england...we are focusing on the distances being nothing but a daily phone call away...
email & text messages are our constant life line to Ritchie's family...especially his loving mum...
to leave her was so hard...
she is an incredible welsh woman, who made her life in sydney, australia with this man...
this man that loved her & shared four children with her...many thousands of miles from her hometown on the other side of the world...
we are now doing the same...
David was so proud of us doing this...having this adventure...
he & Fay stayed with us for a month in february...& we feel blessed to have had this time with him...
Ritchie feels blessed...
his father showered him in love & was so proud of what he had achieved here...with his family & with his work...
& now...as we spend the next jetlagged emotional days coming to terms with this loss...those times in february are going to be a great comfort...
thankyou to each & everyone of you who left me a loving message or thought on my last quick post before we flew out to australia
i truly can't tell you how much it meant to me
&
to Ritchie who, whilst i couldn't for some reason, would check up on my blog & let me know the wonderful messages you were all leaving
~~~
that's what happens in times of grief...we all seem to watch out for one another a little bit more
xox
