For my wonderful MIL who would have been 62 tomorrow. Taken from us too soon in August last year.
This was/is my tribute to her.
I met her when I was 17 and dressed in a scuzzy trackie while working backstage on the school play. My hulking 6 foot BF introduced me to these 2 tiny skinny women, MIL and GMIL, who inspected me from head to toe and then grilled me for about 10 minutes before turning to BF/DH and saying 'She's good this one, well done son'
She had a wicked streak a mile wide and when we got married I knew she would try and get us somehow so I packed 2 suitcases for our honeymoon, one real one that I hid in the spare room with the best mans stuff and another that I packed with stuff I didn't want to take and left it under the bed but slightly peeking out. She found it and filled every spare inch with so much confetti I am still finding it 5 years later.
I thought I had won, much smugness on our part, but then we got home and realised that she had also filled all the clothes in our wardrobe with confetti as well, pockets, lining, the lot. Still finding that too.
When we found out we were having a DD1 she was thrilled, she already has 2 DS's and 2 GDS's so this was first girl, lots of dresses etc got dug out for her.
She woudl sit for hours on teh sofa holding DD1 so I could sleep when she was going through her 'put me down and I'll make you suffer while daddy is at work phase'
When I was pregnant with DD2 and in slow early labour she walked with me for hours, so much so that she slept for 14 hours as she walked with a stick. And took great pleasure in telling everyone we passed that I was in labour and could give birth right now just to freak them out.
She wasn't the greatest cook in the world but her jam is legendary, and no-one makes a better hot toddy.
When we stayed she would sneak into our room at 5am when she woke and steal the children before they woke up so we would get a very rare lie in. Many a morning I woke and freaked out as my children were MISSING to find them downstairs merrily eating toast and watching cbeebies.
Most importantly, she wasn't just my husband's mother, or my children's grandmother, she was my friend. And I miss her.
Happy birthday Jill, I love you, xx