<-- back to a resume of sorts
It was a shock to all of us, and i know lots of you talked with her last
week, which makes if very hard to believe we won't talk to her this week. It's
very strange.
but my mum wasn't one to wait around for an invitation.
And she wasn't one to dilly-dally over a decision. And she found it hard to
leave things until the time was convenient to anyone else. She died as she
lived: bluntly, without warning.
And that is how she always expressed
her love, bluntly. She presented gifts out of the blue, objects which had
significance to her. we were ordered to take care of them. She schemed schemes
to improve our lives, and i know many people found themselves on the receiving
end of those schemes.
Her love was in her presence, her words,
her poems, lately her emails. She made endless visits all over the country - she
would travel any distance for dinner with a friend.
And she passed on that
love, and that independance. On good friday i was in Canberra, Matthew
was in Melbourne, Philip was in Adelaide. We had all spoken to her on Thursday,
and we were all with friends when we heard
She feared nothing, my mum, nothing and noone. We were
more afraid for her than she was, which turned out to be crazy. For all our
fears that she would die by walking under a bus, by falling off the train
station, or be killed in a car crash where she was the driver; and for all
her
fear that she would die slowly, losing
her mobility, her ability to communicate, and most of all her independance;
after all the deals she made with anyone who she thought could keep her out of a
nursing home, she died in the night, in her bed, at home.
I will finish
my tribute to Leah with a tribute to the people who made her independant life
possible. people who loved her with an open hand. Nan and Ray, and the
whole Anforth clan, and
my Dad. People who cared so much for her but didn't let their concern become a
prison, which so many people in her childhood would have done. She spent so much
of her life fighting against restrictive forms of care, and with the help of all
those who have loved her so openly, she has returned freedom to so many
of our lives.
, if you like, to find out more.
there is a video of mum speaking about faith, from a couple of years ago.
Leo has a copy
--> Leah's memoir
Jay wrote:
I have just recently lost my mum, and so much that you have said relates to my mum also. I loved her so much but feel that I didn`t show it and obviously now it is too late. When will we ever learn. God bless your mum and mine. Jay.
andrew wrote:
thanks Jay.
three years later i really hope i'll get around to uploading her poems and writings... the things i didn't do while she was here i'm having trouble doing now she's gone. unsurprisingly.