A love story very close to my heart…

You know how you see films and read stories about people that we’re meant to be. They make you wish for that kind of love in your life. However its something you rarely see in everyday life. You hear of 50% divorce rates, people in love unable to get married because of their sexuality and weddings being a time for companies to rip you off. But sometimes you need that true love story to know that it’s possible.

Well I have one of those in my family; I’d like to tell you about Richard and Dorothy my Grandparents. They met when they were 11 and they were a couple from then on really, when they were 18 they got engaged. This is there engagement photo.



They got married this is them at their wedding…



They had 5 children my mum being the youngest 2 girls and 3 boys. She was tough and abrupt, he was happy go lucky always the life and soul they we’re opposites but they worked. They spent their whole lives together when my mum was born my Nan had, had enough she went out to work and my Granddad stayed at home to raise my mum. Which was almost unheard of then. They had my Mum really late in life my mum’s sister is 18 years older than she is so they we’re quite old by the time I was born and I don’t remember loads about them as a couple from my own experience but the stories are amazing.

This is where it turns a little bit into film of The Notebook. My Nan developed Alzheimer's. It was bad; she would bite people and think my Dad was her son. Here is a picture of both of them holding me. My Nan has Alzheimer’s badly by this stage.



She became violent and he was old and as much as he wanted to look after her by himself he couldn’t. She was taken to live in a home so I never really got to see her much once she lived there. He visited her every single day without fail. But she got worse and worse and was slowly slipping away. Eventually she passed away and it was the end of my Granddad’s world he had seen this same person everyday since he was 11. I do remember more about my Granddad and I remember him telling me about her and you could tell from the way he spoke about her and the way he looked when talking about her that he was heart broken. She truly was the centre of everything for him. I didn’t see it then I was young but looking back now it was clear. He was still loving and fun but the sparkle in his eye had gone he was lonely without her.

He passed away less than a year after she died. He became ill his body started shutting down and the doctors couldn’t find a cause. The doctors told my Mum and Dad it happened a lot with couples that had been together a long time once one went the other of would give up and pass away soon after. I remember clearly my Granddad being in hospital I would sit and talk with him while my parents would talk to doctors he would tell me he was ok, he was going to be with my Nan. When I would ask him where it hurt or why he was sick he used to tell me everything hurt and he was sick because he had a broken heart. (When I was little I thought this meant he had heart problems but he didn’t)

The last thing my Granddad said to me was “Simone life is like a Merry-go-round, It’s so beautiful and fun that when it stops and it’s time to get off, all you want to do is go round again.” I was little but as I’ve grown older I truly appreciate how beautiful these words are to have a person in your life that you could keep going round and round with and never be unhappy, to have a life so fulfilling and joyous that you wish you could do it all again exactly the same.

Love
Simone
xxxx