Bright Square #30
Today could be considered a sad day but it’s also a bright day.
With blogging I always feel it’s important to talk about the mix of emotions we all go through from time to time – because that’s life – good and bad, happy and sad.
Today is the day my mother-in-law Ruby, would have turned 90, had she not left us in December last year. We are still mourning her, as we work through her house (and life), finding gems we didn’t know about, like her artworks for instance. We wonder what would have happened if she’d taken those opportunities to pursue her artistic talents when she was offered them, what would her life had looked like then?
Thinking back to this time last year we were all pleased with how well Ruby was coping with lockdown, as she lived alone, many hours drive away from her two remaining children. We organised a friend to take her a cake and the family had a party on Zoom with her. She loved seeing the little ones on the screen and hearing all the news from everyone. She was as sharp as a tack right up until the end, a clever and talented woman.
Today we spent the day with her at the forefront of our minds. We took her flowers, we went out for lunch overlooking the sparkly blue water at a favourite beach, we wandered around the shops, bought some books and some plants – just exactly as she would have wanted us to. It was as if she was with us all day and of course she was in spirit.
We decided that April 30 be declared ‘buy a book day’ in honour of Ruby, who loved her books! If you could see the overloaded bookshelves in her house you would ask us why we were buying books, but she always liked to support small businesses and this particular book shop in Huskisson, was always a favourite of hers.
It was bright, sunny and warm, considering it’s the last day of April and autumnal, it got up to 24 degrees :). We will soon return home to the cooler temperatures and crisp mountain air, but for now we are enjoying the warmth.
Here are some of my squares from today, the final day of #brightsquare
As I said in my post yesterday, I will miss seeing all the wonderful brightness that Becky and other bloggers have been capturing and sharing throughout the month of April. It’s been fabulous to be involved in such a creative and talented community.
Thanks again to Becky for the wonderfully bright month.
Becky’s square theme for April was Bright – it was a monthly challenge where she posted a photo every day – you can see her latest post here – Thank you Brightly. Becky will be back with more squares on a different theme in July, and I look forward to joining in again.
I’ll leave you with one last bright and beautiful square, as a reminder of our autumn down here. I was walking this morning and this perfect leaf was at my feet begging to be photographed – so of course I obliged – in the name of squares!
Normal blog transmission will resume next month – whatever ‘normal’ is!
I’ve just sorted out all my #brightsquare posts and I think I did pretty well! I tried to make it about what I was observing at the time and what was bright in my world. It made me look at things differently and I really enjoyed finding bright squares to share, so thanks again to Becky for the fun month 🙂
Don’t let someone dim your light, simply because it’s shining in their eyes!
Deb 🙂
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Everyone has a story to tell! Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. She never imagined being Granny Debs would bring so much joy to her life! You can read more of Deb’s story here
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Your day spent in memory of Ruby sounds wonderful and perfect! 😘
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Thanks Carol, it’s been a tough week in lots of ways but today was just lovely!
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A more fitting post to wrap up BRIGHT I do not know Deb. A beautiful, heartfelt post to a wonderful woman. Your husband’s Mum, your MIL and your children’s grandmother and their children’s great grandmother. Never forgotten..shining brightly in your memories.
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Oh many thanks for your beautiful and empathetic comment Denyse! You truly understand my thoughts and aims with this post. I loved finishing the month of brightness with this post, for so many reasons. Shining brightly always xx
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Seems like a wonderfully bright day. Anything with food is a good day!
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Very true Teresa! And the food was lovely too 😊
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oh what a wonderful tribute to Ruth, and 4 months is no time at all no wonder you are all still missing her so much. A book day though sounds a fabulous way to remember
and I am loving all your food and brightness. This is such a great post, and how fabulous you have linked to all of your squares. So hope you will be back in July, you are part of the community now
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Yes it hasn’t been long at all and we are still in that time of trying to make sense of things and sorting out her house has been quite confronting this week. Your bright squares have kept my spirits up no end! I’ll be back in July for sure 🙂
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Sending lots and lots of hugs xxxx
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It sounds like you spent the perfect day remembering and celebrating Ruby. I love the idea of your ‘buy a book day’ in her memory 🙂
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I think we did it quite well Sarah and we will definitely add buy a book day to our annual calendar in her honour!
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What a sweet tribute to your MIL as well as a wonderful way to remember her by doing things she loved. You are so mindful in what you do. I think in many ways we all do the things that our family members liked to do because we also enjoy them. You verbalized those sentiments well. Thanks for reminding me that I owe the things I enjoy doing to the many times I did them with my family. 🙂
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Thank you Marsha, we managed the day quite well, it’s always the ‘firsts’ that are the hardest it seems. Your comment made me smile and shows me again how much we all learn from each other in this blogging world. x
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Yes!!
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Hi Deb, what a touching way to remember Ruby on her birthday and she will always live on despite not being with you physically. I love the Buy a Book idea and that is a lovely tribute to remember Ruby each year. My love and thoughts are with you, Grant and his sister at this time. Take care and thanks for sharing such beautiful memories and photos. x
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Thank you Sue, we all appreciate your kind thoughts and support. It was one way I thought of how I could share what the day meant to us. xx
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I lost my mother-in-law in the last few months. I know it’s commonplace for guys to rip their mother-in-law (especially when they’re around their buddies), but I never did that because I was so lucky. Fran was the best and always made me feel like family from Day 1. I hope you have many great memories of yours.
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Thanks Pete, and yes I have lovely memories of my MIL and I’m sorry to hear you too have lost yours recently. I was embraced into the family from the beginning too and will miss her dearly.
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I absolutely agree with you – that with the joy comes sadness also, and it is important to talk about both in this space. Thank you for sharing your tribute to Ruby – I love “Buy a Book” Day in her honour. She would be so pleased, I’m sure!
I loved Becky’s BrightSquares too! It was such good fun!
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Thanks Ju-Lyn, it’s been a great month of sharing brightness and I really got into my squares this month. All the brightness is welcome!
Yes I agree, it’s important to talk about joy and sadness in this space, so I will continue to do so!
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Looking forward to sharing the laughter & tears!
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The best way to honour her. I have family in Huskisson (on my Mum’s side). My cousin has a homewares shop there – Few and Far, I think it’s called. Lovely part of the world.
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Thanks Jo, we thought so too. We always love going into Few and Far for a browse – small world!!
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I think it’s wonderful to have honoured her in this way. Toni x
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I’m happy with how the day went Toni and we enjoyed the change of scenery.
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