Broken

I haven't blipped for over a week and when I saw the remains of this mug in the dishwasher this morning I thought it would be an appropriate lead-in to the reason for my absence.

Last Thursday my father-in-law died after a prolonged and debilitating deterioration in his health. He was 88, so had a long life. In the very early hours the Ards Man got a call to the hospital, where his dad was reported to be unresponsive. He rang No1peanut, who got the first flight home. I collected her from the airport and we drove straight to the hospital, where she was able to hold her grandad's hand for the twenty-or-so minutes it took for him to pass away from this life.

Unfortunately the Precious was just too far away (in Malawi) to get home, but she was with us in spirit and prayers.

It has been a very strange week, with episodes of endurance and grief and laughter, as we looked through old photographs and swapped stories. The family decided to ask folk to contribute to the hospital that the Precious is working in in Malawi, instead of flowers, so even more people far from here will feel the touch of H's life.

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