Sonly duties

It seems that I may have acquired a mum!*

After yesterday's "Can you just mince this meat for me" visit, today I was scheduled to drop by Sheila's house at eight thirty, so we could drive, in tandem, to the local Tip.  I had the trailer in tow, filled with Sheila's living room carpet, and she had a quantity of old tiles in the back of her little runaround.

To be fair, all of these sonly duties had been prearranged, and I am more than happy to give her a hand. She has a great sense of humour, and is always good company.

I was back home by ten o'clock, and 30% and I set to removing a dwarf Juniper from our herbaceous border.  It is a lovely specimen, but has outgrown its spot.  There was no chance of relocating it, so loppers and a spade were deployed to cut and dig out its major roots.

In the afternoon I dug over the space previously occupied by the Juniper, and 30% volunteered to give the ground a good soaking later on in the evening.

In the evening I met up with Bubbles for our regular fishing session.  Bubbles selected a peg immediately downstream of Jubilee Bridge. We had a pleasant time chatting nonsense and laughing, but we caught nothing at all. I had a couple of bites at my luncheon meat bait, whilst poor Bubs had nothing at all.

Oh well, better luck next week, perhaps?

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* My mother died in the February of 1997. Although it could be argued that I lost her back in the Summer of 1974.  She was involved in a car accident and suffered life changing injuries, including brain damage that resulted in a complete personality change.  She was comatose for several weeks, and attended the Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre down in Oxford for many months. The person that came home to live with us was definitely not my mother, and we, as a family, became her carers. 

I could go on at length about my mother, but I don't feel the need anymore. She is long dead, and the years after her accident were as difficult for her as they were for us. I grew up quickly and these circumstances probably led to my fiercely independent streak, and willingness to have a go at anything.

As for my mum, post accident, try to imagine an individual that has had all of their filters removed. Think about all of those little social veneers that we have. Now imagine loosing them and saying exactly what you think, whilst also having absolutely no empathy for those around you. That goes a small way to describing her.

You become quite hard, with a black sense of humour when you're in your early teens and you have to clean up your own mother's shit!