A Family Value of Togetherness

I was looking back through all my photos since you left us Nanny. I found that I could search by place on my phone – Teddington.  So many popped up. And as I browsed the photos with tears in my eyes, there was one which stood out and put a big smile on my face. I wanted to show everyone today and to explain what this image means to me and how it relates to you. This is a scene from your hallway at your house Nanny, on a Sunday afternoon. I felt the urge to capture it one week a couple of years ago, because this sight filled me with a joy that I couldn’t explain in the moment. They are of course, just shoes. And yet they are so very much more. This image represents the family value in my life, and the togetherness and comfort, which has all stemmed from you. I could have also photographed the bulging coat rack, or the mugs lined up in the kitchen, three-tier cake stand, or buffet table, or even room full of people – but somehow this one speaks the loudest. It fills me with a sense of security and certainty. And despite feeling weak in your absence, this image makes me smile so wide inside. I have grown up with this sight, every Sunday for most of my life. And whenever I have seen the shoes at your door, I have known just how many people are inside – to greet me, receive me, see me, hear me, love me. We are all there at your invitation. Your call. Thank you for being our shepherd, for looking out for us and inviting us in each and every week. For encouraging us to be together. For accepting us, in the midst of our messy, well-trodden lives – providing a haven, an escape. A chance to be in a room where we were loved unconditionally and greeted with a warm smile and open arms. You asked questions, we answered, we shared, you nodded, you smiled, you reached out to us with your heart, a cup of tea and plenty of cake. You were, and ARE, so proud of your big and wonderful family. Your home you have shared so openly with us and we thank you and all those who reside there – my wonderful my aunts and uncle for making it such an easy, loving and welcoming place to be. I have a feeling Nanny that you too loved this sight of all our shoes bundled together, and our coats piled high.

How will we cope without you when your love and presence was so abundant? We will cope, only because we must. You leave us so sorrowful and bereft – but we can feel stronger in the knowledge that your values will live on in us. You have taught us all the meaning of family, our commitment to each other, and what it means to stick together. To avoid conflict and to always seek peace. To listen, to learn from and support one another and to keep coming back. You have been our greatest teacher.

Now you’re gone, life will never be the same. The room we occupy when we gather will never be the same. Our family is forever growing as you will continue to witness at God’s side. Your legacy. How amazing it is that you have been in the lives of some of your great grandchildren and that they will take away precious memories of you too. We will continue to be together, to gather and to share and to laugh and to love. Because you leave us Nanny – with those shoes at the door. That family value so strong and so permanent. You leave us as greater people. Greater for sticking together. Greater for having known you, greater for having been loved by you. We all have so much to thank you for.

Rest in peace dear Nanny and watch over us. Your smile, your twinkly eyes, your open arms, your warmth and the depth of your love – are forever with us.