These WERE a few of my favourite things..

I thought I would dedicate tonight's post to some of the things I loved about my mum and the era when she was alive. I had my tears last night, and today I had a wonderful time enjoying my children as my mum would've wanted me to. And so to end a lovely day I thought I would think of all those things that make me smile when I think back to my time with my mum...

• she loved watching me be a 'drama queen' and a 'disco diva'. I can still see that proud look she would give me as I pranced around thinking I was a superstar. She believed in me and my dreams.
• her hugs were the bomb diggity, in other words they were the best things ever and nobody hugged me like my mum did. I loved snuggling into her neck and feeling so safe.
• she had a wicked laugh! And now I realise I've definately inherited it. Got to love those dirty, wicked laughs.
• I thought it was awesome that she could never give 'the finger' properly, she'd always muddle it up, wanting to give 'the forks', then it'd just end up being the pinkie, which in this day and age can be an insult too. So she was way ahead of her time.
• She was a Masterchef. I always looked forward to dinner time and she never disappointed.
• she listened to everything I had to say and took a real interest, not feigned.
• Her passion for sewing was incredible. She made everything in our wardrobe and I mean EVERYTHING! Underpants included and once she showed off her handy work whilst I was wearing them, yes indeed she lifted up my skirt and showed some friends how well she made undies. I was mortified at the time, but now I get the best memory giggle from that incident.
• She was uber protective of me. I swear if she could've gone upto someone who had upset me, deck them and get away with it she probably would have. 
• Christmas day she would make us wait until about 10am before we could open our presents. I thought it was sucky at 6am, but by the time we were opening the present it made it so much more sweeter to still be opening them when most kids were over the whole thing. I especially appreciate it now and will do the same to my kids. 
•  My mum loved watching "The Bill" and so we all sat down to watch this Brit police show on a saturday night whilst inhaling a block of Dairy Milk Chocolate or Caramello. actually she made us watch all the 'pommy' shows that were on TV. I guess she missed her homeland sometimes...
• Every night without fail we would say to eachother "Have a wonderful dream, and a wonderful sleep, I love you and I'll see you in the morning"... we made sure that was on her gravestone.

Well those are just a small number of the things I cherished about my mum.
I love that instead of dwelling on the pain, the loss and the sadness; it is much rewarding to think about all the beautiful things surrounding her memory. Instead of thinking of what I don't have, I can consider myself lucky for what I got to experience with my mum as I was growing up.

From Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam:27, 1850:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.