An Everlasting Love

Everlasting Love

My Grandmother taught me how to love.  She used to say, if you love a child, it will love you back - and she was right.  My Mother was sixteen at the end of the war and it was her great ambition to become a nurse.  In those days, if you wanted to train to be a nurse, your parents had to pay for you to take the courses.  My Grandparents had brought up four children of their own plus an orfaned baby that my grandmother had taken in, so there had been no money for training.  Finally, in the early 1950's my mother was able to realise her dream and enrolled for training to become a nurse.  A couple of years later, I was on the way, but Mum wanted to continue her training so her parents had me to live with them.  I was just six weeks old when I went to live at their house and my Grandmother loved me with all her heart.

I remember the time I spent with her as full of laughter.  My Mother visited often, but I was Nan's girl and she did everything she could to make me happy.  By  1961, my Mum and Dad had their own house and were both doing quite well in their careers.  My Grandfather had fallen ill with a wasting desease and so we all went to live in Mum's house so that she could keep an eye on her Dad, my Grandfather.  Sadly, he died just a few short years afterwards, but my Grandmother was very brave and I never doubted that I was the most important person in her life.

My Grandmother was always there for me.  When I had a bright idea about becomming a hairdresser, she let me do her hair and then when I thought about becomming a nun, she found me a Bible and some black material to drape around myself so that I would get a feel for it.  She conducted birthday parties for my dolls, burial ceremonies for the goldfish and taught me how to knit and do jigsaw puzzles.  She nursed me when I was ill and supplied me with extra money when I wanted to go to anywhere.  She bought me weekly magazines and made sure my shoes were polished every day.  By her actions she taught me how to care for others.   Her upbringing had been very strict.  She had two older sisters and several brothers and often made me laugh with tales of their antics when their Mother's back was turned.

I was not there when she died at the age of 82.  Among her belongings was a Get Well card that I had sent  her, just to tell her that I loved her.  It seemed such a small jesture, after all of the years that she had spent lavishing her special brand of love and attention on me  Although it is now 25 years since she passed away, I love her memory dearly and am so grateful that she taught me how to love.  I'm sure she is looking down from heaven now and laughing as I remember us both sitting under the kitchen table having a dolls tea party one rainy afternoon.  I have my own grandchildren now, I hope I can show them the same love as she showed me.