MY MAM

This is my Mam Connie - born on 26th June 1925. She died in 1981 when she was only 56 years old.

She had a life of ill health. Pneumonia ( twice ) when she was a child and TB when she was a young woman. After my youngest brother was born in 1964 she suffered from Post Natal Depression. At the time this was not diagnosed and she basically was told by her Doctor to snap out of it, get on with things etc. However she spent many years indoors and in a bad way. When my brother was born I was 12 years old and on many occasions had to take a day off school to look after him if Mam wasn't feeling up to it. Every afternoon when I got home from school I had to go straight back out to go to the local shop to buy groceries. I took my brother with me as obviously he hadn't been out all day. This went on for about 5 years but gradually after this she started going out, going on holidays etc. Even so she still ended up in hospital on many occasions for various ailments.

The best thing I remember about my Mam was that we could have a laugh together. Sometimes we would just laugh about nothing much. She was a lovely caring person and when she died from a stroke in 1981 it was such a blow to the whole family. My children never knew her and it's such a shame that they never had a Grandma - Douglas's mother had also died many years before they were born.

So Happy Birthday to my Mam - I still miss you.