I tried to summarise Mum in under 2 minutes as requested in a way that I felt appropriate, Words however are a both a blessing and a curse for me.
9800 miles from this very building, on the opposite side of the planet there is body of water called Lake Eyre. It sits within what was once called the Lake Eyre National Park but was rather spookily renamed on the November 14th 2013 to the Kati Thanda National Park.
This story actually starts about 4.6 billion years earlier in the yawning chasm of space between Mars and Jupiter. There sat a rock, a normal rock amongst billions just waiting. It was called Murrili. Some years ago , maybe 71 years, ago this rock collided with another and was shifted out of orbit whereupon it started its final journey towards the Earth.
Some years later on my 46th Birthday, myself, Mum and the rest of my Devon family at that time were driving back from a day out in Cornwall. At exactly 10.51pm we all saw Murrili hit the atmosphere. A beautiful green streak passing quickly and intensely across the night sky outshining everything before disappearing from our lives forever. We were all astounded at what we had observed, mum being mum later scoured the internet, and found, evidence of what we had seen. As it turns out she didn’t know the half of it.
We weren’t the only people who saw Murrili, it was captured falling to Earth by a telescopic array in Southern Australia and after 30 days of hunting the lakes they eventually found what remained of Murrili, 1.6kg of heart shaped ordinary Chondrite.
Of all of the rocks in all of the solar systems
Of all of the time that has been and ever will be
Of the people and events that have been and ever will be. We saw it. Thats true once in a lifetime and once in a universe stuff.
That’s exactly how I feel about my Mum. An ordinary person, millennia in the making who then blazed across our lives for too short a time, pouring all that she had been born with slowly and deliberately into each of us until all that remained was a heart shaped memory of a life well lived and a life well loved.
Mum had an innocence and an engagement the few of us possess. Myself and Karl were talking this morning about how she was probably the least likely visitor to the Glasgow Museum of Lesbian and Gay Erotica.
Among the other alumnis of the ’71’ club are Joseph Bazalgette, chief engineer of the London Sewers and the Portuguese footballing legend Eusebio.. I feel sure that mums opening and entirely innocent comment to Balagette would have been
“Have you considered Fat Balls?”
Whilst Eusebio would merely be asked to explain the offside rule.
Every.
Single.
Time .
I love her fiercely but I cannot mourn her passing yet; maybe one day the tears will come and in floods as I have alway expected them to. But I can honestly say that the joy of having my mum, the wonderful, loving, slightly left field, often unknowingly entertaining woman that she was, in my life far outweighs the bitter blow of losing her too soon. That’s one book Mum that you’re never going to be able to balance.
I just miss you.