Gone Fishing - Lily's Last Holiday
Lily was quite the rebel, a very active, determined, and fiercely independent little lady, so she was not a happy gal when a brain tumour stole her mobility during the last year of her life.
This did not kill her spunky spirit nor her dry humour that would have us all in fits of laughter. She also used to scold me at times, and I would feel like a disobedient child although I realized afterward that she, in fact, was right!
Mom Lily managed to reach 90 full years, during which she faced many tragedies, but also much joy.
We took her on what was to be her last holiday after her ankle fracture had healed, but she was not happy that a caregiver would need to go with her for the night-time calls of nature as carrying a commode as well as luggage and food, and, and...was out of the question ;)
There was much excitement from our housekeeper Cynthia when we asked if she would like to come with us to help Ouma Lily at night as she had a good bond with Mom. Cynthia knew that Mom was not going to appreciate the fact that she needed babysitting though!
My brother and his wife as well as our youngest son joined us in a large villa down at the Caribbean Estates, wich is bordered by the Umtamvuna River, the boundary between the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal, and the Indian Ocean along the eastern boundary, giving one the best of both worlds, with the lagoon offering river cruizes or fishing, and the ocean with its long sandy beach perfect for long walks or fishing.
The accommodation is just awesome, spacious, and well-appointed with gorgeous views of the river and the ocean peeping out in the distance. Mom could still walk up a staircase at that stage by holding onto the rail, with one of us close behind her.
Cynthia knew she was going to have fun with us, and she did! We taught her to play Rummikub and she ended up being the champ. My brother took his casino games along, and she hit some lucky streaks with that as well!
Mom used to join in, but that last holiday she just sat quietly and watched while we were laughing at all the fiddling going on in that casino!
We always enjoy taking the riverwalk and fishing from the jetty, but sadly Mom could not get down there any longer.
It was a bittersweet holiday for Mom, she loved that part of the world but was used to going for walks on her own, picking up her fishing rod, and determinedly walking down to the rocks.
She often showed the menfolk a thing or two, coming back with a nice-sized fish, while they were still busy studying the tides and the phases of the moon, getting the bait ready, and literally spending more time planning than actually fishing!
This was the last fish that Mom caught when my brother and his wife took her down to T.O. Strand Caravan Park after the loss of my Dad - a nice-sized Bronze Bream.
We used to camp there as children, but this time we spent a day picnicking there. Mom could not walk on the sea sand anymore. We found a nice sheltered spot on the beach, and the guys managed to help her there. She sat there looking very sad, gazing at the rocks and remembering days gone by when the whole family, except me, would fish on the rocks or from the sea-shore.
I would find new friends or have a holiday crush and go home broken-hearted at the end of the holidays!
We would swim and sunbathe all day, yep, back then we would actually oil ourselves to get a nice golden suntan; sunscreen wasn't even on the agenda!
Even though it made Mom sad sitting there, she thanked us afterward for taking her to this place of many happy memories.
Stunning sunsets at the end of the day kind of mellows the soul, saying it's time to rest now!
Rest well Mom Lily, but I'm sure you are still up to your antics for those you are with now, running on the sand and going fishing in an endless wondrous ocean beyond our imagination!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my photo memories, the latest Silver Bloggers topic for #silverprompt, and remember nothing stops you from writing on this topic if you miss the deadline tomorrow Thursday at midnight GMT (also known as UTC); it just will not be in time for the special #SilverPrompts curation post.
Original Content by @lizelle
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It looks like a beautiful place, I'm glad you all had fun on that adventure with mama Lily. She was also part of this community, I always enjoyed listening to your stories, your memories and still do. I don't know the game Rummikub, I think I will investigate
You will love Rummikub, board games are some of the simple pleasures in life that we forget about! Thank you so much Carolina, I'm glad you've been part of mom Lily's stories 💖
Oops Carolina, I responded from @hive-106316 but you know it was me😉🙈
Lovely memories with Mom Lily on her last holiday. I remember you posting about this previously, but the feel is so different this time, beautiful memories
Yes, little did we know that this would be Mom's last holiday! I discovered some extra photos on my husband's phone that I could add. Believe it or not, I was stumped with this prompt topic despite being the one to suggest it🙈
Thank you for reading @livinguktaiwan 🤗
It was good your mom got to go back there one last time Lizzie, and some more memories for you.
Thank you Ed, yep it is good memories, even though it made her sad she was thankful for seeing those sights again.
Yes Lizzie, in one of the pictures of her you could see that.
I'm not really fond of memories to be honest... I gather tones of old paper photos from analogic cameras in the drawers and I barely come to check them. It's curious since I used (when young) to stare at them along with my family, mainly my mom and sister, both aren't here anymore, more than 20 years passed already...
I prefer focusing on the present, on what I'm doing just now to not miss an instant if possible. However, someone made it to find a pic from a fishing day I spent with both of them and a friend at the river in a spot I used to go frequently with my dogs. He put it on the fridge and for any reason it's still there. From time to time I look at the picture and I can feel perfectly that momment since I was the one behind the camera... I see their admiration glance on their faces, it was me unveiling my hidden spot and skills on nature (at least they thought that way). I then send them a kiss touching the paper and coming again to my stuff.
That's all with old photos, I even rarely visit the ones I keep on Google photos or hard drives unless I'm making a post as I don't like using third part pics.
I enjoyed as always the reading, for any strange reason I can find the point on others memories so thanks so much for sharing them with us. Sending you hugs Lizz 🤗
Thank you so much @drakernoise, I really appreciate your comments & support.
I understand where you're coming from, we need to appreciate life each day or we could miss special moments. There's much joy to be found in little things around us.
But it's still awesome to enjoy sharing happy memories, not dwell on them too much but like you say you touch the photo, I find myself doing that with special photos of my mom who passed away end Jan.
I'm so sorry that you lost your mom & sister such a long time already, she must have been very young💔
Anyway, enjoy the rest of your Thursday & take out that fishing rod again if you can😉
The conversation made me think I haven't the mentioned photo digitally saved sonI did It on the fly to share It with you.... You can see the magnets, sry
The quality is not good but I think you will be able to see the mentioned expression on their faces.
That's a very special memory @drakernoise, thank you so much for sharing that. It looks so mysterious and almost like a painting at first glance, until one looks closer.🤗
I forgot to tell you that my mom and sister are on the right, the girl on the left was a friend.
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Mama Lily sounds like quite a woman :)
There was so much love and family in this wonderful memory.
It made me smile and melancholic at the same time.
But I guess that's life, huh? You told it honestly and beautifully.
I'm sure she's having a blast and making waves. Still 🥰❤️
You totally got it @nickydee, glad you enjoyed it and understood👌
Yep, all she wanted that last month after a seizure rendered her totally helpless, was to go to her 'forever home' so she could walk again. I believe she is. 😇
Thank you for sharing your beautiful memories, @lizelle. I can hear the loss in your words and the bitter-sweet memories.
I have a similar memory of the last vacation with my mum here in Ireland when she danced with my then 3-year-old daughter. It was such a happy thing to witness as it was the third year of her journey inside Alzheimer's and this moment was something to cherish. 💛
Awe Julia, I think Alzheimer's is one of the most cruel illnesses to have and to witness.
I'm glad that you have good holiday memories of your Mom.
Thank you for your kind words, Mom was literally withering away the last month of her illness as the tumour was affecting not only her mobility but also her swallowing & eventually her breathing. She went peacefully though here at home, we had 2 registered caregivers in our home as they had the skills to make her more comfortable.
I'm glad she had a peaceful transition 🙏
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Lovely memories of your mum Lizelle