Mother's Day

Today may be Mother's Day but for me today was about my grandads. One has just been given a new lease of life with a Cochlear Implant, a truly magical device. For many years I remember family gatherings mostly being silent for him, unable to tune into conversation and keep up. My grandad is deaf because of the industrial noise on the building sites he worked for. He is a joiner. I know that he retired many years ago but I don't think that you ever forget skills like those. And his hands still look like the hands of a craftsman - strong and gnarled. One of my favourite things is sitting with him and holding his hand - he strokes mine back with his thumb. I especially like knowing that he's now sitting there listening to what I am.

And here he is holding my other grandad's hand. It might seem a bit odd, but I think that he knew that in holding my grandad's hand, as he was a wee bit confused, it would calm him far more than anything he could say in that moment. Colin said that he thought that this was too personal an image to put on blip. I argued the opposite - that it's because it's so personal that I wanted to post it. I want to remember this gesture for ever. I am lucky beyond all belief to have these men as my grandads. I love them to the stars and back.