Whoops, just popped back up here, ya better get a cuppa lol.
it's wonderful how you describe your Mum - is she still around?
Sadly no, been some years now and had she been around, she would be 96. How I described her, could be described as a title to a huge book, much more.
Around the late 70's I built our first home and that was around 200mts away from hers, which is where we moved to, when I was about 16, yeh power, running and Hot water and that magic flushing toilet lol.
I would pretty much hike through the paddock every arvo to visit,.... wife on occasions would have moments on that one, lol. But,...my siblings 7,...6 girls, didn't exactly visit that often and often when they did, I'll just say, it wasn't exactly a thrilling visit for my mother. The, or her property, I used to farm with mine and other ground I used to lease. $'s from hers pretty much only covered costs, but that enabled her to keep living there as the last thing she wanted was to be in a home. Dementia got her in the end. Before then, things erupted with me and the siblings and as is often the case, $'s signs in peoples eyes, brother in-laws on the scene to boot, over the property. They got power of eternity, or whatever you call it and before long, put her in a home. By this stage, or before, it did become evident, eventually one wouldn't have a choice. When I visited the home she said, you know wotsup, I expected this from them, but Never you.
As you can imagine, that hit like a ton of bricks. And you can do and say nothing, how can you tell them what went down and I don't say this because of dementia, as at that point, she was well and truly switched on. She walked up and down daily, looking for a way out. Eventually you slowly but surely watch that drive fade away, less and less each week. Eventually she had what I say was a mini stroke as in infarct dementia, stopped eating drinking, eyes open but like no one is home? What they do then is, effectively leave them to die, which is in effect of, hunger and thirst and can take up to 7 days. Siblings decided pretty much, to stay away when hearing this. For whatever the reason, day 2-3 I think, restless night you might say for me and just knew I had to be there for the morning, if not already to late. Soon as I came into the first passage, I was sure that day was the time, but I won't cover why (covered it before). Anyway, as hard as it was due to her unpleasant breathing, I sat beside her and eventually the nurse came in to monitor her heart rate etc. Breathing settled, even though few and far between. One sister eventually turned up and soon after, she was gone.
Quite a large number came to the funeral, even quite a few relies from the fathers side, don't see them much. Mothers side a lot as well and the cousins and many which use to be locals and their kids, which we went to school with. I was still a bit of a black sheep there lol, but held my ground etc, and was able to get out what I wanted to say, but nice, if you get what I mean. It was read out via the Funeral people as some of it was in the context of, a message from my mother to her kids.
Finishing with,..............as a little boy if I got angry with mum, I would yell out, chook poo and run like crazy. Jokingly, all used to remind me of it and at times, would name me chook poo. So, in the final message in the write up, as message from my mother to me was, "Oh, and to you wotsup, I'm going to have the last word,................. chook poo to you to". The finish lightened the mood and caused quite a bit of laughter.
Father was out of the picture, when I was 18 and him being 54. Pulled off the side of the road on the way home, for a pee and in the process, a drunk mate come from behind in a cattle truck and collected the drivers side, rear of my fathers ute, all over rover. Mate left the scene, picked up by a couple who took him home. They asked was anyone else involved, he said no, even though, my fathers vehicle lights that weren't smashed, were on. They dropped him at his farm, shot back and found my father under his ute in the drain, water etc. They went to the nearest house to phone 000 and that house was my fathers brother. As soon as he heard the colour of the ute (red) he knew who it was.
