Gone But Always With Us

Mark's Gran passed away this week. She hadn't been doing great but it still took us all by surprise.

She was an amazing woman.  While she never got to see Jessica speak or run around, I'm happy that they did get to spend some time together and that we managed to capture some of that time in pictures.

These photos are from our last visit with her before we left for America.

Now I'll let Mark say a few words.

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Some of my earliest memories are from when we first moved to the UK. I was about 4 and we were staying with Gran & Grampa until we found our own place.  I would spend hours playing with their tiny white lego bricks, building houses with Gran & Grampa's help.  Gran would always encourage me to see if I could build it another level higher.  These towering creations would be proudly displayed on their mantelpiece until our next visit, when I would tear it down and start all over again. 

She had a really positive outlook on life, telling me that you make your own luck and it's up to you to decide how you want to feel about something - you can either let yourself feel happy or sad about a situation. She also had this amazing, cheeky, sort of mischievous humour, that drew you in and made you feel like you were in on a secret when she told you a joke.

She taught my siblings and I to play card games, like Snap and Trumps, which we delighted in showing Mum when she came to pick us up that day.  She also told us about the importance of family, and of looking after one another.

These are just a few of the fond memories I have of growing up with my Gran.

I'll really miss her and I'm sorry Jessica couldn't get to know her better.

I just have to take comfort in the fact that she's reunited with Grampa now and they'll be watching over us from above.  I know she'd want us to celebrate all the happy times we had with her and not dwell on the sadness of not having her now.  It'll just take some time.