Going back to my roots…

I’ve never been much of a family person. My Dad passed away when I was 21, I became an expert on pretending everything was ok, but it wasn’t. It was all building up inside of me and erupted soon enough. Family brought out too many emotions for me, emotions that I was trying to run from and at all costs did not want to confront. Losing my Dad was enough to deal with, I didn’t want to hear what my brother and sisters were going through as well.

When my Mum passed away a few years ago, so many people I hadn’t seen for years came to the funeral. It was incredible and felt incredible to see them and reminisce about years gone by. They had stories and pictures of my Mum and Dad that I smiled about for days after. Something good always comes from death in my eyes.

Today I met my 94 year old Aunty. Her son is the spitting image of my Dad which made my sister and I stand still in awe and then comment on it for the rest of the day, much to his pleasure. My Aunty is an inspiration. 94…94!!! That is so much life, she was still so cheeky and a joy to sit with. It was just yet another reminder that life may be short but we also have so much of it if we want it. I worry about whether I’m making the right life decisions sometimes, you know what. Just do it! It’ll work out or it won’t. You’ll adapt and then make another decision. You just have to keep making those decisions and making the most of what you have. When I look back at 94, I want to keep smiling and entertain the people around with me stories that inspire them to build a life worth living as I have done.