Treasures

Back Blip


Part of the decorating regime has been to declutter and finally, 14 years after losing both my parents, tackle the heart wrenching job of going through all the keepsakes in the loft.
Mum wasn't particularly sentimental but she kept these treasures along with every handmade card I gave her for birthdays etc
Life was tough for her. When she met Dad after the war, he promptly went to the Antarctic for five years with the navy. 
After they married he continued a long career in the RN while she dedicated her life to bringing me up while simultaneously looking after my elderly grandparents who shared our home
I was 6 months old before Dad saw me and for years he was almost a stranger who only appeared on some weekends, as he was posted too far away to travel back home.
It seems strange today to think back to the excitement of receiving letters and postcards from him sent from across the globe.
I don't remember receiving this poem as he wrote it for my 2nd birthday but was thrilled to find it today, written all those years ago. I guess life was hard for him too having to leave behind his family but he always put the navy first. Mum married him knowing that that would always be the case and their devotion to each other got them through.

Different times