Dear Newsletter Readers,
I hope this week’s edition of our newsletter finds you in good health and spirits and as always I hope there is something of interest in it for you to read.
It’s inevitable that at some point in all our lives we will have to suffer the loss of our parents and exactly 3 years ago today my brother and I lost our mother to a disease that she had been suffering with for quite some time. Fortunately, my brother and I were able to leave Japan very quickly to fly back to the UK to be at my mum’s bedside, so we were with her right up until the very last breath she breathed. I understand that for some families this is not always possible to do and my heart goes out to those families, so my brother and I feel very blessed that my mum was able to remain alive long enough to share with us her last moments of life. I think about my mum and dad from time to time as I believe it’s a natural thing to do and in order to remember my mum on this day I thought I would put down a few lines of verse that help me to remember her when she was alive.
Until next week, I hope you enjoy my poem and have yourselves a good weekend.
Not forgotten
You’re not forgotten, mum and neither is dad.
You were the best parents my brother and I were lucky to have had.
We had our ups and downs as all families do, but we battled through.
We wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for you.
You were never one for spending money, but then again we never had a lot.
Much to the frustration of my dad you would put away most of the weekly wages he got.
You would often buy very small cuts of meat which when cooked took no time to eat.
But when my dad wanted to buy a new car he never had to travel very far.
After dad passed away you were at a loss with yourself.
Your social wellbeing suffered and so did your mental health.
For some years you struggled to come to terms with my dad’s death.
But with treatment and time your life breathed a brand new breath.
You embraced your newly found zest for life with visits to Japan.
You looked forward to seeing your grandkids and thoroughly enjoyed being a gran.
You never wanted to return home as you knew you would be alone.
But you knew that living your life out in Japan would not be easy to do.
A poem by Stephen Austwick