My husband has a sister who is only 10 months younger than he is. They were very close growing up as 'Irish Twins'. Their mother always put him in charge because he was older, but the two months of the year they were the same age his sister would argue they were the same age. Their mother never agreed.
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| my husband and his sister, about 1973 |
Last spring my husband and his sister traveled to visit their mom who was very ill. Both of them were very busy with work, life & family. Their relationship with their mom was complicated. Neither of them were looking forward to the trip, but their mom was very sick. We drove for a full day. His sister and her husband flew. We picked them up at the airport, and checked into the hotel that was fairly close to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital brother & sister walked into their mother's hospital room hand-in-hand just like they did when they were small children. The tears were flowing as the love shared between them was spoken and unspoken.
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| My husband & his sister on the trip to see their mom spring 2019 |
This trip was healing in so many ways. They made peace with their past. They reconnected as a family. They had a chance to say goodbye.
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| Brother & Sister, Spring 2019 |
5 weeks ago their mother passed away.
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| Mary Lee |
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| Urn made by her son |
This past weekend, at a graveside service, family came together to bury their mom's
remains with her parents.
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| Mary's parents: Clifton & Eva (nee Aspden) Lee |
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| My husband and his mother, May 1996 |
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| My husband with his mother, August 2019 |
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| my husband with his mother, about 1980 |
The graveside service was very moving. As expected there was many tears, but there was also some laughs.
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| Little sister, and family, speaking from the heart |
~
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| Big brother standing watch over little sister & her family |
Their mother's graveside service was on the Friday of the long weekend. My husband and I had arranged to spend the weekend with his sister and her family. His sister lives in a dry & sunny area with many beaches. After the graveside service the family went to the beach with a family dinner after. The following day we visited a community market & visited a couple of wineries for wine tasting.
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| Brother & Sister, August 2019 |
On the day we were heading home the decision was made to take us out for brunch via a 1 hour boat trip. The trip over was beautiful.
The sun was shining, the water was crystal blue. The mountains were gorgeous. The water was a bit choppy, but our brother-in-law is a good Captain
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| Brother-in-law, Boat Captain, August 2019 |
The walk on the sunny boardwalk was spectacular, brunch was amazing, and the trip back was very nice. I decided that their boat was my favourite boat in the whole world until the moment his sister decided to open the sun canopy. That was the moment things got a little batty.
There was a bat village living in the folded up canopy. At first there was only a couple as we all began scrambling as fast & far from the back of the boat as we could. When they flew away we discovered that bats can swim. By the time we were back at the dock all of the bats opted for a safer quieter refuge under the boat dock. By our best count about 40 bats had been residing in the boat canopy.
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| Bats can swim! |
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| Right below that canopy cover is a bat |
My favourite boat? That was so half a trip ago. My husband's sister and I dashed to the front of the boat where the trip was very rough. We were no longer willing to sit on the comfy couch in the smooth riding back. The rest of the trip back we sat in the bow being splashed and tossed about, but safely away from the bats. If you click the video below you can hear my husband warning his sister about the bumpy waves, and you can see his little sister being tossed around on the trip back. If you listen carefully you might hear what sounds like a bat. Or at least I think you can.
No family trip is complete without a good bat story!
(click video to view)
(listen carefully to hear the bat)
Big brother warning little sister
about the upcoming bumpy waves
(listen carefully to hear the bat)
about the upcoming bumpy waves
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| Beautiful little sister |
Funerals & weddings – reconnecting families!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Sources:
Earth Touch News Network, Newsflash: Bats can swim ... and they're surprisingly good at it, retrieved August 6th 2019 from https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/newsflash-bats-can-swim-and-theyre-surprisingly-good-at-it/
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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