Page 122 - She's One Crazy Lady!

“Darling Doris (she has always called me Doris – I have always called her Mabel)
One felt so honoured when one was asked to write a short note in one’s forthcoming literacy works. One was quite overcome for a moment, but one pulled oneself together. Well... it’s the emotion of it all darling, so this note finds oneself sitting at one’s writing desk thinking of the many times we have corresponded over the past few years. I have to say what a joy it has been for one, and one knows, in your many hours of darkness, our letter writing must have sustained you and given you strength and, if this is the case it has all been worthwhile.
I send you my love and felicitations for a happy and healthy New Year and the very best for your forthcoming book which I am sure will be an outstanding success. (With my article in it, it will be!)
Your ever-loving sister, Mabel xxx
Her article:
“Bye, bye. Have a safe journey, drive carefully.”
Well, I thought to myself, they didn’t stay long, but there you are, and
we’d had a good night; the night being our alfresco evening in the back garden on a lovely June evening in 2001. Tubby and Marilyn came, as did my elder sister, Cas, and her husband, Roger; our son, Richard and his wife, Sam; her son, Adam and, of course, my husband, Andrew. It was a lovely evening. Lots of chat about the summer and good-natured banter towards Tubby because she had such a long school holiday to look forward to. All too soon, everybody was going, Tubby and Marilyn leaving before the others. As I cleared up, I thought life to be pretty good.
“Tub’s got breast cancer,” my mum said on the phone. Oh, God! How? When? As dad was there with mum the conversation was quite matter-of-fact and as I put the phone down I suddenly thought back to our alfresco night and everything fell into place. Tubby knew that night she had breast cancer but didn’t want to spoil the get-together by telling us which is why she left early, the strain probably getting too much.
After my phone call with mum I didn’t cry or do anything really. When telling Andrew Tub had got breast cancer it was as if I was telling him she was just popping down to Tesco’s. Of course, at that time I didn’t know the long, long road she was going to have to go down in terms of surgery and other treatments. I didn’t know enough about breast cancer to know what it all involved.
I won’t go on about how brave she was (although she was incredibly brave) and I’m sure she had her ‘moments’ (in private if I know Tub) but what I would like to say is how I believe good comes from bad and what a lot of good, we as a family, have got out of this terrible time. We have found ourselves again. As in everybody’s lives, everyone is busy going about their lives and very often, don’t spare the time even to make a phone call or call in for a coffee. Tubby was always there in
“Tubby
was always there in the background busy at her job, and I was busy at mine, but suddenly, we were talking more and more, sharing our worries. ”
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