A little introduction before we begin….
I came across this blog post recently. I started writing it last year while I was on my trek, but for some reason never got around to publishing it. There were quite a few of those!
Reading it now, just a year later, has made me realise how much things have changed.
Mum’s memory has deteriorated considerably over the past year. Her short-term memory is now almost non-existent, she can no longer manage FaceTime and even using her phone has become a challenge.
Those daily conversations still matter enormously, but they’re not quite the same as they were when I wrote this.
And that’s why I wanted to share it now.
It’s a little snapshot of Mum as she was during my trek, with her garden tours, her fascination with the bins, her beloved cat Tom and, of course, her wonderful friend Alexa.
Reading it again made me smile, and perhaps feel a little sad too, because I hadn’t realised at the time just how precious those ordinary, slightly bonkers conversations would become.
So here it is, exactly the sort of everyday nonsense that made me smile during my 365 days walking around Britain.
I try to call my mum every day, just to check in, have a chat and make sure she’s okay.
Now, you might think that with me walking around the coast of Britain, we’d have all sorts of exciting things to talk about. And we do, of course, but our conversations tend to follow a fairly predictable pattern!
First up, the weather.
I get a full weather report from Sheffield, followed by my weather report from wherever I happen to be that day. We compare temperatures, rainfall, wind speeds and generally establish who has the worst weather.
Then we move on to the state of my feet.
Are they okay? Are they sore? Have I got enough stuff to put on them? Am I looking after them properly?
I’m 61 years old, walking thousands of miles around Britain, but I’m still Mum’s little girl who needs reminding to look after herself!
Next up, the garden.
Mum loves her garden, and I get regular updates on what’s flowering, what’s growing and what needs doing.
If we’re on FaceTime, I get the full guided tour.
She takes me around the garden, showing me all the flowers, and always makes a point of showing me Angela’s rose, which has the most beautiful pink flowers.
Then there’s Arnold’s Surprise, which in autumn turns the most fantastic shades of red, orange and brown.
I may be seeing some spectacular scenery on my travels, but I still get to enjoy the changing seasons in Mum’s Sheffield garden!
And then, of course, there are the bins.
Oh, the bins!
If it’s windy, or bin day is approaching, this can become quite a lengthy discussion.
What colour bin is it this week? Have the neighbours put theirs out? Whose bins need putting out? Will they blow over in the wind? And who’s going to bring them back in again?
Mum also has regular conversations with the bin men and has even been offered a job!
I’m not entirely sure what the job description would involve, but I suspect she’d be rather good at supervising the entire street’s bin collection.
Then there’s Tom the cat.
I get regular updates on Tom, what a good cat he is and, most importantly, how clean he keeps himself.
Apparently, this is a particularly admirable quality in a cat, and one that deserves frequent mention!
And finally, there’s Alexa.
Mum thinks Alexa is absolutely wonderful.
“She’s so nice, you know. She reminds me to take my tablets. Three times a day she comes on, every day, reminding me. Isn’t she good?”
Mum talks about Alexa almost as though she’s another member of the family. A particularly reliable one who never forgets anything!
And this always makes me think of my Gran.
My Gran was blind, and I remember how she used to talk to the speaking clock.
She’d ring up to find out the time and then politely thank the voice for telling her.
And when we went shopping, she’d thank the voice in the lift for announcing which floor we’d reached.
So perhaps chatting to technology is a family tradition!
I do wonder what Alexa makes of it all.
Anyway, that’s a typical conversation with Mum. Weather, feet, flowers, bins, Tom and Alexa.
And tomorrow we’ll probably do it all again.
Although, of course, the weather will have changed, the bins might be a different colour, and Tom will undoubtedly still be keeping himself beautifully clean!
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