Let's Sit and Have a Cup..

...a post to welcome you to ours, with thanks to the lovely Abi at Creating Paper Dreams, for urging us to put the kettle on.

I'm glad you dropped in today. I could do with the company.

The teachers in training. My aunt is in the middle at the front. Can you guess which one is my Mum? if you have seen pictures of The (Not So)Small one, her grand daughter, you might be able to work it out.. .

For although I've been distracting myself with new dresses and comfort sweet eating, the truth is round here we've been feeling sad. One of our favourite people in the whole world died almost two weeks ago, after a short illness and a long life well lived. You can see I have the old photos out; and I'm happy you bloggers, scrapbookers, memory keepers have come to call because you will all understand that flipping through the pictures and telling the stories is what I need right now.

Where do I start? I won't keep you too long. I know you have other places to visit today, but, if you don't mind, may I tell you a little? Talking is good.

She was our aunt, but she wasn't. She was my Mum's friend, from the moment they met, learning how to be teachers, right through the next sixty years. So she wasn't really our aunt, though that's what we called her: she was more than that. When we heard that she was gone, it fell to me to pass on the news, and everyone I spoke to said the same thing. She was the nicest person I'd ever met. At her funeral we heard about her achievements - a lifetime of service to the school she loved, through difficult years in a harsh part of town. She travelled, she created friendships with schools across the world, so that her girls would know more than the "Troubles" they were surrounded with every day where she taught. But through all of that, she kept on coming to see us, telling my Mum she made the best roast dinner, bringing exactly the right present at the right time. Little things in the middle of the big things. Endless patience, a ready chuckle, a way of speaking you could listen to all day. I keep reminding myself of her voice so I don't forget, someone in the family said. We loved to see her when we were little, and when our children were born, my two and Little E, she kept on coming, always with a special visit for each of their birthdays.

The mug is in the photo because she spotted I'd been given it as a Mothers Day present, once, and she thought it was funny. But now I think that mug is wrong. You don't need to be a Mum to be a Queen. She was the proof of that. This Sunday on Mothers Day we'll be rushing to spend time with a Mum who has lost her best friend and thinking about the best friend who spent her life making every child she met feel special..

..and that's what I'd tell you today, if you were here, letting me show you my photos. Auntie Eleanor loved to see new countries and meet people from all over the world. She believed in the power of education. A virtual tea party, organised by an inspiring student, would have been right up her street. So, stay for another quick cup and then I'll send you on your way. She wouldn't want us to stay sad for long. She's be asking what we had planned next. And if we had thought about this year's holiday. Mmm..

You can sit and have a cup with Abi, and find more places to visit, at Creating Paper Dreams today. Go on, give it a try! You never know who you might meet