Friday, July 04, 2008

Auntie Maud

Auntie Maud died last week. It's her funeral next Thursday when we're away on holiday.

It was very quick in the end and mercifully painless.

The last time I saw her she was telling me that the doctor had asked her if she'd like to be moved to a nursing home in Dorset near her children. She'd thought about it and said she would. 'But I don't think I'll get there,' she said to me.

It was as if she just gave up in the end.

When I was a little girl, living in Mumbles, Auntie Maud and Uncle George and their children used to come and stay. They lived in Middlesex at the time. Then at some point later, there was a falling-out between my gran and Auntie Elsie, Auntie Maud's mother. As a result we didn't see Maud and George for a long time. In fact I never saw Uncle George, who was a darling, again.

When we came back to Swansea in 1988, after living in Southampton, they had moved here and Uncle George had just died. Auntie Maud babysat a lot for me and our relationship - which had been lost because of an argument that didn't involve us - was rebuilt.

She was always very intolerant of those 'old biddies' who lived around her and did nothing but grumble about this or that. I'm glad she never became one of those.

13 comments:

Maggie May said...

Sorry about Auntie Maud.
It is a great pity that whole generations of people are parted just because of one or two older ones quarreling.

Suburbia said...

So sorry to hear about Auntie Maud.

Anonymous said...

So sorry.

CherryPie said...

I think some people know when it is the right time for them to move on.

Love to you xx

jmb said...

Sorry for your loss Liz, but it sounds like a good end for old Auntie Maud.

Rose said...

So sorry to hear about Aunt Maud. I had been wondering about her.
It's sad but often happens that old quarrels separate families for years. I so glad that you and she ended that quarrel and became friends.

Susan said...

Sorry about you loss. I am glad that you were able to have time with her. Did George get his name from Uncle George?

Furtheron said...

Sorry to hear that.

Family break ups that are nothing to do with you are hard. I never knew my uncle as he was "thrown out" of the family when I was very young. I know part of it but not all of it and never really understood why it really mattered that much given other history in our family. Still nothing I can do about it - he died young when I was a teenager and my Mum still refused to go to his funeral.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

So sorry about this, Liz. But I'm sure Auntie Maud appreciated your closeness to her in later life.

Elsie said...

I'm so sorry about your Auntie Maud. May she rest in peace. x

Chervil said...

Liz, I am glad you were able to rebuild the relationship despite the family falling out.

It is very sad when people die, but I do agree with you - sometimes people seem to know when they want to go, and then they just fade away. The same thing happened with my grandfather. It was almost as if he had been waiting for us (myself and his two great-grand children) to visit him from Australia. He seemed very animated and happy to see us. But a few weeks after our visit, he told my aunt that now he wanted to be reunited with my grandmother (who had died a few years earlier) and he died soon after that.

Chervil said...
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