Best person you've ever known

[toconclude]

Now everyone's had a vent about horrible people, a chance to laud the lovely ones. I vote one of my oldest friends who despite at times struggling with severe MH issues has been a wonderful friend, dedicated professional and always tries to see the positive, without being a walkover. She's generous, calm, lives very simply and has that rarest of gifts, complete integrity. She's who I wish I could be. And I know I'm not BU😁

My mum - she is awesome

left school with no qualifications - married at 18 - divorced at 24 (1974) with 2 kids - went to night school to do O level sewing - 12 years later she qualified as a teacher - taught secondary for years - always the 'naughty' kids like her - she was loved

Since retiring she has been an amazing grand mother but she has also - always been an activist - she set up a playgroup in 1972 in our local church as there wasn't one - it ran for over 20 years - even now - at 74 - she runs an after school club which provided free hot meal to families. The kitchen they use was condemned - she fund raised and applied for grants and ran a charity shop to pay for a new one.

She recently won an award for her work - at the ceremony I met the second most amazing human being - Michael Brown - who campaigned for Clare's Law - he was just a beautiful soul.

I also love my boss - she is compassionate, passionate and kind - she never stops caring about care experienced children and young people and she wont stop fighting for them - she's a breath of fresh air and high energy and I adore her.

I've known lots of wonderful people so I guess I'm lucky , but if I chose someone who wasn't my parents or gran , DP , or best friend all of which are amazing , I would chose my best friends wife who is amazing , kind , considerate , hard working, thoughtful , not a walkover but sees it from the other perspective. I wish I was more like her

Hard to pick the best, but one who springs to mind is my old neighbour who ran a sports club in a bad part of London with the aim of giving teenage boys a way to feel achievement, belonging and pride that didn’t come from gangs. He was going out there and reaching the boys and young men many people could not get away fast enough from.

My Mother, who made this world a better place.

I love you forever Mum; until we meet again.

[quote Veronika13]@JustLyra oh what a beautiful touching story.
I'd love to watch a movie made out of this ❤️🥺[/quote]
Tbh I think it would be dismissed as not believable as I went from being a kid removed from abusive parents to having these wonderful people in my life.
DH and I also met in a lift 😂

Thanks for all the lovely comments about OMIL. She is a treasure and I’m very lucky!

Quite a few which I consider myself very fortunate for.
My grandfather was an extraordinarily kind, patient man. We were lucky to have him for a long time (he was 99 when he died) and I've always tried to model myself on him.

When DD2 was born she had to have quite serious emergency surgery. It was a huge shock and obviously a very traumatic time for dh and I.
Without exception, every single person we came across (surgeons, doctors, nurses etc) was wonderfully kind and understanding.
We would have just been another set of parents to them but 15 years on, I've never forgotten any of them.

My Grandma and my friend Lou. Both very upbeat, kind, generous people who always see the best in life and the potential rather than the negatives. And both are this way despite some pretty rough things happening to them in their lives. I aspire to be more like them.

What a wonderful thread!

I am going to say my step mother. My parents were toxic after their break up and still are but she was always kind, welcoming and just so normal throughout it all. Introduced me to many interests I kept through life and also encouraged my career - which my parents just didn’t. She was well loved by many friends and is very missed.

My mum was and still is the greatest person I've ever known. She came to England with nothing, learnt English, learnt how to drive, worked 3 jobs and still managed to keep the house looking like a show home and put a hot dinner on the table every night, as well as ensuring my brother and I had all the best opportunities in life. She became very ill in her early 60s and after a long and degenerative illness lasting several years.. The day of her funeral, the funeral car passed my parents house, every single person came out of their houses to pay their respects as the hearse drove past. I miss her so much and she never got to meet my daughter. She would've been the most wonderful nanny to her. Every night when I'm putting my daughter to sleep we wave at the ceiling as it's the sky and say night night nanny, we love you. I'm so privileged she was my mum and I'll never forget her.

My mum, she is genuinely amazing, she has only been my mum for about ten years, but in those years she has been more loving, caring and supportive than the person who gave birth to me ever was.

She survived a divorce, raised two brilliant boys on her own (one with additional needs), her community are important to her and she has put on countless events to serve her community. She has been the best mum I could ever ask for, but more importantly to me she is an amazing Grandma to my son. We are incredibly lucky to have her in our lives.

My lovely friend who I first met when our now-grown dc were in reception. Throughout many years of treatment for cancer she’s been one of the most life affirming people that I’ve ever met. She notices the small joys in everything and through her I have learned to appreciate them too.

Despite undergoing sometimes gruelling treatment, she (pre-covid) volunteers at a hospice and runs clubs for school children and during lockdown regularly helped out and shopped for elderly neighbours. With zero fanfare, she’s been an amazing source of help, kindness and support to so many people.

When we first met, she was waiting for a bus in the rain. I made a passing comment about the grim day and she gave me a huge smile and said ‘every day’s a good day’ - much later, I discovered she’d been on her way to a chemo session. As a friend she’s sunny, funny and wise and is a great role model on how to live life to the full; it’s such privilege to have her in my life.

My grandmother's best friend. She was the kindest, loveliest person I've ever met. One of those people that everyone just felt warm around. I'm not spiritual at all but she genuinely seemed to have an aura around her! If there's a heaven she is definitely in it.

@JustLyra

My ‘other’ MIL

My MiL is wonderful. However my O-MIL is the most amazing and inspirational woman ever.

Her daughter, my DH’s first wife, died cruelly young when her DS was tiny. OMIL and MIL supported and pulled my DH through it. OMIL did that despite her own obvious grief.

Then when, in time, DH met me she was kind and supportive, even though it must have been awful for her to see. When DS was 10 he said he wanted to call me Mum. I was really conflicted as I have very strong views on people who parachute new partners into their kids lives and quickly have them calling them Mum/Dad.

OMIL took me out for the day and made my cry by saying “My DD loved being a Mummy. Her biggest fear when she was dying was leaving him. She would be very happy that he now has an amazing Mum to look after him.”

Whilst she obviously adores DS1 the most she is also “Granny Name” to my girls and to the children DH and I have gone on to have together as well. And somehow she insists that she is the lucky one that we let her! It’s us that are lucky to have her.

My MIL is also the mother I never had so I’m very lucky.

This had me in tears. How amazing you both are. X

@Pebbledashery

My mum was and still is the greatest person I've ever known. She came to England with nothing, learnt English, learnt how to drive, worked 3 jobs and still managed to keep the house looking like a show home and put a hot dinner on the table every night, as well as ensuring my brother and I had all the best opportunities in life. She became very ill in her early 60s and after a long and degenerative illness lasting several years.. The day of her funeral, the funeral car passed my parents house, every single person came out of their houses to pay their respects as the hearse drove past. I miss her so much and she never got to meet my daughter. She would've been the most wonderful nanny to her. Every night when I'm putting my daughter to sleep we wave at the ceiling as it's the sky and say night night nanny, we love you. I'm so privileged she was my mum and I'll never forget her.

Ah Pebbledashery this is such a lovely post

My dc's paediatrician. She has gone above and beyond for my dc, has hugged me when I've been upset about breastfeeding going pear shaped, came to visit me when I was in hdu and dh was looking after the dc. She was the only person who listened to me and didn't tell me I was being silly when I said I thought my 4 month old had autism. Despite being the clinical lead and just as important as Connie in casualty she never acts like she is too important for a chat or a game with my dc. My dc treats her as a much loved auntie and I think she adores him just a little bit too.

My dad
Two friends
3 of the above are deceased

My grandad. He was the kindest, sweetest man I’ve ever known. His mother passed away when he was a toddler and his father remarried a woman who never showed him any love or affection. There was an obvious difference between him and his half siblings and he was quite severely neglected as a child. At 16 years old, his father went away on business and his step mother threw him out, behind his fathers back. When his father returned, the step mother lied and said he’d left of his own accord. That’s the last time he ever saw them. He left on a boat to Kenya and, several years later, he met my nan and they had 6 children. He loved his children and his grandchildren so much. He was always very affectionate with us and we adored him. He would give anyone the shirt off his back. When they left Kenya for England in the 60s, he paid for several other families to come with him and, over the years, let many people stay with him until they settled. Never took a penny from any of them. He also funded his village in Kenya. Built several schools, sorted out running water and paid for medical equipment for the maternity unit in the local hospital. For someone who was never shown any affection, he made up for it with his own kids and grandkids as he was adamant no child should ever feel the kind of pain he did. He died almost 20 years ago now and I still miss him. He shaped our whole family and the reason we are so close is because of him.

My best friend, she's so selfless and wonderful. She's the sort of person who'd drop everything to come and help you in the middle of the night if you needed, no questions asked. I tell her all the Time how grateful me and DD are to have her!

I was going to start one of these threads after starting the "worst human", nice

My husband. Not perfect but a really great human. Will always help others and try to do the right thing.

My gran and grandad. Just truly lovely, genuine, altruistic people.

My Grandad without a doubt. He was a self made wealthy man. You would never know he had money and treated everyone with respect and always hammered home never to judge on appearance or on what anyone did or didn’t have.

He used to do things for people anonymously so things like an elderly lady in his village, he popped in one day and saw she had her oven open to warm her little bungalow so he arranged and paid for her heating to be updated. Things that made a huge improvement to people’s lives just because he could and he hated it when people found out it was him and would get so embarrassed.

At his funeral everyone had a story to tell and the village he lived in actually named a new road in his memory, my Dad (his son) died when I was young so he was the father figure I had growing up and I miss him desperately.

My dad. So ahead of his time in terms of his thinking; ideals people hold now he was actualising 30 years ago. Everyone who knew him always says how he made time for them. Always laughing, I'm blessed for the extraordinary childhood he created; it was like a magical fairy tale. Even as an adult having unconditional love and support is so special