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Thursday 27 December 2012

RIP Uncle Roy


It is with great sadness that I have to announce we lost Paul’s Uncle during the early hours of Christmas Eve.

December has been a very busy month with my husband’s Birthday, Christmas parties and from the 20th a Wedding, a birth, a death and my nephews 16th Birthday on Christmas Day.
Paul has been suffering with a bad cold over most of this month which unfortunately resulted in him having an epileptic fit so that spoiled a lot of his birthday plans as he was so tired L It really has been a challenge and I know that as a person I have come a long way as I didn’t get depressed or overly upset and that really is something worth celebrating.

However, no matter how busy we have been it all gets knocked into perspective when you are told your Uncle is in hospital and in a very bad way. It was made worse that we could not visit as the hospital was closed due to the Norovirus. We had a call on morning of the 23rd December to say he was very ill and unlikely to make it. We rushed to the hospital and it was like a ghost town. Normally you have to struggle to park and the hospital is bustling with people visiting and personnel going about their normal working day. We had to wear a plastic apron and rubber gloves before we could go into the ward and only go in one at a time.

This was only the 2nd time I have seen anyone who was dying and it was really upsetting. When Paul’s Grandad was going he was very peaceful and unfortunately in this case that was not so. It was obvious he was in distress, he had gone blind earlier in the week, could not talk anymore and seemed to be trying to tell us something. I found it very distressing and could only stay in there for a few minutes. We all stayed at the hospital for 3 or 4 hours and then Paul and I went home as there was nothing else that we could do.

We both had sleepless nights and I got up at 3.30am and pottered around on my computer. We found out later that Roy died at 4am on Christmas Eve and thought it was weird how we were both wide awake at the time.

Christmas has been a very subdued affair. I haven’t even put up my Christmas tree this year which is unheard of as I love decorating my tree. For some reason it just seemed like Christmas represented a lot of hassle this year and my heart wasn’t in it. I feel that intuitively a part of me knew something wasn’t ‘right’ this year.

This card I gave to Roy’s partner Sarah who stayed with him right to the end. It had initially been made for one of my team mates on One Stitch At A Time as we all got together to make a digital condolence book for her. It was made quite a while ago but has been on my desk for quite some time. Most of my cards get blogged straight away and then put in a box but this one hadn’t, again very strange……..

Anyhoo this last few days has again put things into perspective. I am living for today, enjoying every minute I can and wearing my ‘best’ clothes instead of saving them to gather dust in a wardrobe as you just never know when your time is up.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-
Card Size – A5” Square
Paper – Mariposa Stack by DCWV
Embellishments – Decorative paper strip by Papermania
Tools – Distress Ink pad, Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, Quickuts Cookie Cutter Die
Techniques – Distressing, Diecutting

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-


16 comments:

Chris said...

So sorry for you loss. It's especially hard to lose a loved one at christmas, when everyone is celebrating. Your card is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us at Sweet Stampin' this week.
Chris
x

paper fun said...

It has indeed been a trying month for you. So sorry about your uncle in law. It sounds that he was very loved.

Your card is lovely and I am sure that Uncle Roy would be very pleased with it.

God bless you,

Mari
Crafts 4 Eternity

Lola said...

So sorry for your loss. It was meant to be held onto until now and I'm sure she will find comfort in it. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Catch the bug.

xxxtglxxx said...

So sorry to hear your news Mandy. Sending my thoughts to you and your family at this time.

Your sympathy card (arent these so hard to make!) is so tranquil and very beautiful hun.

Thanks so much for joining us at Sweet Stampin this week,

hugs

xxalisonxx

Rene said...

I'm so sorry for your loss...you have created a beautiful sympathy card. Thank you so much for joining us at MIM this week.
Rene

KraftyKoolKat said...

I am so sorry for your loss Mandy. It has been a difficult time for you and unfortunately if you are anything like me it will come back to you every year. My MIL died the 28th Dec and was buried on my birthday 4th Jan. 20 years ago and it still comes back to me.

After saying all that, this card is lovely. I saw you over on MIM.

Hugs
Cathy
xxxx

Lisa Carroll said...

This is a beautiful card. Perfectly executed and colored. So very sorry for your family's loss. Big hugs, and thank you for joining us in the "Anything Goes" challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog this week. xo

Penny said...

Goodness, what a stressful Christmas you have had. I am so sorry to hear that Paul's uncle passed away...
Your card is beautiful, and I am sure will be greatly appreciated. Love the background for the pretty image. And, yes, I am sure it was still on your desk for a good reason.
Take care, and thank you for sharing this with us at TTCRD.
Hugs, Penny

Wendy Fraser said...

Lovely, thoughtful card, I hope 2013 is a better year for you and your family. Thanks for joining us at I Love Promarkers xx

Lorraine said...

Oh, Mandy. What an awful time you've had and so sad too. I'm really sorry to read it.

Your card is lovely and I'm sure Sarah will appreciate it. Thanks for taking part in our I ♥ Promarker challenge.

DIANA L. said...

Sorry for your loss. You made a beautiful card as a tribute what a wonderful thing to do.
Thank you for joining my DL.ART ANYTHING GOES December Linky Party
DIANA L.
http://dianamlarson.blogspot.com

Lady Anne Milnes-Howard said...

Love your card, I think I have this image somewhere and I love it and the way you have coloured. I would love you to email me Mandy at: ladyanne@cardsbyladyanne.com.
Thank you for sharing with us at Lady Anne's. I hope we see you again.
Love ~ Lady Anne xx
Cards by Lady Anne

Love ~ Lady Anne xx

Cindy said...

My HUGE condolences on the loss of your husband's uncle. We lost my hubby's dad 3 years ago at Christmas too. It is not bad not to decorate or celebrate as per usual. Even if it's next year too. This is the first time in 3 years we have felt like celebrating. It takes time.
The card you created is beautiful! Thanks for joining us at My Heart Pieces! Cindy :)

Min said...

Sending Hugs to you family - losing someone is never easy and in a situation like the one you described - it really puts things in life into perspective.
But what a lovely card you created! Thanks so much for playin' along with us this week for the Catch The Bug Recipe Challenge with Bugaboo Stamps! We hope you join us again for our NEWEST challenge.
Happy New Year – we look forward to seeing you in 2013!!
Hugs & Happy Days! ~Min
Kaymin Kreations

Unknown said...

Hi Mandy, so sorry to hear of your family's loss - any loss is difficult but at Christmas it's especially hard to take.

I'm sure given time Christmas will become something you will feel like celebrating again.

Your card, although it must have been difficult to make, is so very elegant. A lovely image and colour scheme.

Thanks for joining in with us at Sweet Stampin this time.

Sarah

Craftin Suzie (Susan Wykes) said...

Sorry to hear about your troubled Christmas and I hope 2013 is a better year for you. Thank you for joining us at Delightful Challenges with your lovely card for our Anything Goes Challenge, hugs Susan x