Its the final week of the #dosomethingyummy link up which can be found over at Nickie’s blog IAmTypecast . Its aim is to raise awareness for the children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Nickie wants a massive push in this last week to really make its mark. This week’s prompt is about survival, a subject very dear to Nickie’s heart.
Survival is a instinct, so the books tell us. We naturally want to survive. But what happens when you have lost your world, how do you survive or even want to survive after that. I don’t have a personal story of surviving cancer and I could never write such a moving piece as Nickies own story. But my family has been touched by the cruel hands of cancer and there is survival, of sorts, in that.
My father in-law (well to be precise my ex father in-law) was a normal everyday man, a man that wanted to provide for his family. He started his own business when my ex husband was very young, he put in the hours, the blood, the sweat and I am sure a few tears. His business became a success and still is to this day. He wasn’t a high risker of life, he didn’t smoke, didn’t sunbathe and alcohol was a Christmas treat. As my in-laws had their children when they were very young, when grandchildren came along they were still young themselves. He was young enough to enjoy skiing and kayaking with them, anything that involved outdoors he would be there.
About 4 years ago he had a routine trip to the doctors and cancer was found. 2 years of treatment, hospitals, up and downs followed. My mother in-law was by his side all the way with her devotion and love. His passing was sudden. I remember the days leading up to quiet vividly. As I was divorced from their son we weren’t that close so I hadn’t seen them that often. By chance I was outside as he walked past. He was smiling, cheerful almost to the excited point and waved cheerily at me. His happiness just radiated. Later that evening he went kayaking with my daughter. It was if the last 2 years hadn’t even happened. 48 hours later he had passed away.
So where is the survival bit you say? It’s in my mother in-law. They had married in their teens, never a day apart. They were each other’s worlds. How do you survive losing half your world? You will never see her have a bad day; she is always impeccably turned out, well that’s if you can catch her in. She hasn’t rushed the grieving process or tried to hide from it, she just took each day as it came.
If yo have a story of survival please join in the link up. Lets make this the best week ever for her.
Yes, we forget that when someone dies there are still survivors…
What a touching story. And what a survivor. I bet he is proud of her more than ever now.
When my grandad died I developed a new way of seeing my nan, she was so strong yet I knew inside she too was falling apart. Its so hard to even try to acknowledge that pain of loosing someone you have shared so many years with, so many memories, she referred to loosing him as loosing a limb.
Survival comes in all shapes and forms, that’s for sure!!
Thanks for joining in with this #dosomethingyummy prompts and for helping out with the social media shout out xx
Thanks so much for being part of #dosomethingyummy. I love that one of the last things he did was go kayaking with your daughter x
What a lovely tribute to your late FIL and MIL. Sounds like in spite of no longer being married to their son, you had real respect for each other. Must be so hard to lose someone you’ve been with all that time. My Grandfather was only 62 when he died suddenly and couldn’t understand why everyone said how young he was. I was a child and thought this was a great age indeed. My Grandmother was quite remarkable too like your ex MIL in her dignity.