The Sunny Spot

I'm writing this post with a heavy heart. My dear mum passed away from lung cancer a few weeks ago. She played a huge part in my reading and writing life. She was the reason I became an author, her love of words seeping into my soul from a very early age. Whenever I think of her, I feel the warmth of the sun on my head and the feel pages between my fingers. She was my sunny spot, my reading companion. I’m bereft she is gone but each time I write, each time I read, I feel her there with me, her influence so profound.

Words don't come easily at times like this, but I did manage to write something special which I'd love to share with you all... 

​THE SUNNY SPOT
 
You know how there's always a sunny spot in gardens where you’re guaranteed to catch the sun's best rays?
 
Being with Mum was like sitting in that sunny spot. That patch of pure, perfect light that bathed us all in the most delicious warmth.
 
It’s a warmth that enveloped my brother Paul and I as we grew up, both of us so blessed to flourish beneath Mum, the loveliest of sun beams. Curled up on the sofa watching TV with her arms around us, or sitting in the garden arm to arm, she was the centre that gave us unconditional stability and happiness.
 
As a big sister to Laura, Mum was like the softest, warmest of cardigans, wrapped close and always looking out for her. When the two of them were together, that warmth burst into a giggling, cheeky, loving explosion of fun which has been passed down the generations.
 
In her husband Vic, she found another source of light, a calming, warming presence who made her feel the sense of contentment and stability she so deserved, there right until the very end. As she told me only a few days before she passed, he was her rock, her comfort blanket.
 
For her precious grandchildren, that light in her beams right out of them and will continue to beam through all the generations to come. She was the best ‘little nanny’ there could be, always ready with cuddles, giggles and chocolate!
 
The thing is, that warmth of mum’s stretched out far and wide, always able to find that sweet spot of conversation – whether it was American politics or the latest episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians – and make people feel natural and at ease.
 
She has always been our sun, our warmth. Truly the best mother a daughter and son could have. The best wife. The best 'little nanny. The best sister, aunt, cousin, friend... and daughter, too, to two wonderful parents who we hope are embracing her right now.
 
Now she is gone and we all feel like the Earth without its sun, the centre we once circled gone.
 
But I know it will all be okay because even when it’s winter and that sunny spot in your garden is gone, if you close your eyes and think about it, you can feel its warmth, can’t you? You can feel how relaxed and happy it makes you feel even on the coldest and darkest of days.
 
That’s just like what Mum will be to us, that perpetual sunny spot who we were all so blessed to be able to draw warmth from for so many years. And now, next time you sit in a sunny spot, or even think of that spot, remember the sunny Dot we were so blessed to have in our lives.