Mum at 97

Wonderful dinner out together in the refreshed Scott’s Restaurant at the Fairlie Marina, just outside of Largs where Mum lives. Just the two of us and she told me the story - new to me - of how I had fallen out of a weighing scale as a wee thing, when only beginning to be able to stand on my own feet. Only, then, as a result of a big knock on my head, I was unable to stand up without falling over. The doctor said things should sort themselves out in a few days. She shared how she made the pram interior as comfortable and supportive as possible, and tested my ability to stand up each day, with complete fail results for several. Then how, on the fifth day, I not only stood my ground but danced a jig on the spot. She danced a jig in her seat as she described the scene. ‘I have always felt so very close to you’, she said.

I had made her bed earlier in the day and as I tucked her in tonight, I said, ‘Mum, I love you very, very much.’

‘Alan,’ she replied, ‘I love you very, very much, too!’

We rarely say these things to each other, if at all, but we will both sleep like babies tonight.