Have just arrived back home after a rather stressful week.

I was supposed to be returning to the UK on the 7^th March to celebrate my mother’s 92^nd birthday, the whole family were going to have a lovely party in her honour in my sister’s new house.

Life was turned upside down on the 22^nd February.

I cancelled my flight (he was staying here) and booked a ferry for the two of us instead for the following Tuesday. 

We saw mum and our children, did some shopping, he returned on the Saturday and I stayed on for another week.

I found it all very surreal, a piece of my life had been switched off. My mother is not one for emotions, she is a very private person and keeps her feelings to herself. She will voice her opinions and thoughts though. We talked, she wept a little, I wept a little, she was unhappy that her daughters partner of 14 yrs was left with nothing. They had not married. Maybe they planned to in the future, but the future didn’t happen. Mum is very fond of him and, I think, would have loved him for a son-in-law.

And so my life has changed.

I am now the eldest child in the family. My brother is not too enamoured of that idea, yes, I was his older sister but now the eldest sister.

The airline company, who normally get bad press for their practices have agreed to refund my flight costs. 

Good.

When I got home I found that no cleaning had been done in the house. When we left it was clean. I am stating my case and whether he likes it or not is tough. He obviously needs to employ a housekeeper, cook and cleaner.

And, to my horror, not only am I turning into my mother but I am turning into my mother in law! I bought a lovely pair of shoes for the summer and what does he say “My mum had a pair of shoes just like that.”

Eeek!     

I mentioned that the lounge decoration should have been finished so that we could get on with the next thing that needed doing. 

Response was, “Yes and the gardening & etc.” I wondered what he was on about. 

“Do you mean that you think you needed to finish the painting? If I had been here then it would have been done, as it is I was in the UK, because of my sister’s death, it had always been my intention for me to finish it.” Was my response, along with a few swear words. 

“Oh.” He said.

Anyway, painting is now done. Just need to put paper on the wall.

Papering over the cracks?