Grandad Duck

This little pink blog as been a little blue recently and unfortunately this is not about to change, I promise as soon as I get some good news you'll be the first to know.

My Mum text me today asking me to call her it's an emergency which she does a lot so I didn't think anything of it but I did call her. When she answered she told me my Grandad Duck (his first name is Donald) is in hospital. He had cancer last year and he is unwell again. I was upset instantly my Mum told me my Dad is in Dorset now with my Grandad he drove up there this morning. This shocked me my Dad and Grandad have never been all that close. Then I understood my Mum told me my Grandad has been give 4 months to live. Then Mum said very seriously,
"Simone he is very ill but at the moment he is still with it and he would like to see everyone now while can still hug and be happy. We would drive you there on Saturday and see him, you do not have to at all it's completely up to you."
"I want to go, Thank you."

The thing is My Grandad has been married three times. First to my Nan they had my Aunt Susanne and My Dad. Then he married Diane and she has always been a part of my family and they had my uncles David and Geoff. Then he married his now wife my Nan Trish they have been together since before I was born. But he left my Actual Nan when my Dad was 18 months old and didn't see him again until he was 13. Then he left his sons David and Geoff just as they we're becoming teenagers. So the relationship have always been difficult and emotional as you would expect.

But when I was born my parents worked really hard to make my Grandparents parent of my life I have 4 Nans and 3 Grandads everyone was included and it wasn't until I was older that I found out all these issues, everyone was nice for my sake. As a child my Grandad babysat me, taught me how to tie a tie even though I went to an all girls school where we didn't wear them, he taught me how to play chess, we would listen to classical music, he would take me to pantomimes and the dame sat on his lap, we cuddled, he ran me bubble baths, we ate ginger nut biscuits and tea, we went to London, to a monkey enclosure, if I stayed there on a school night he would iron every pleat into my school skirt and because they only had a bungalow I would sleep in with my Nan and he would sleep in the living room or we would set up camp together in the living room. I think I the relationship we have is very different from the relationship anyone else has has with him. I think this meant a lot to him that his son who he could have done better for gave him the chance to be a good grandparent. I love him very much.

On Saturday my parents and I are driving up to see him and I'm frightened because I haven't seen him in a while so he will already look older than I remember and then he will be ill as well and I don't want to walk in and cry but I know he will. He's not even that old. I love my Grandad. The thought of someone that has always been in my life and always been be so close passing away is scary.

Please think of him.
Love
Simone
xxxx