Page 10 - Gwen Landsberry - Eulogies

But while Mum loved her siblings dearly, she had a special bond with
her younger sister, Claire.
“Claire was the pretty one,” Mum often said, then described how she
and Anne laboured over wrapping Claire’s hair in rags every night so she
had bouncy curls the next day.

Only a few years separated Mum and Claire and yet they were
inseparable.
After marriage, both Mum and Claire eventually lived in Willoughby,
ensuring their bond grew stronger and their 8 children became as close
as cousins could be.

The Landsberrys and the Henkes’s grew up together: playing together,
going to school together and holidaying at Avoca Beach together so I
was part of an extended family; I found this a comforting upbringing.

As it turned out, Mum and Claire’s bond was so strong, they could
continue the same conversation for years.

This was evident when I played a prank on them one day and patched
them in on a conference phone call to each other. The joke was that
both parties thought the other person had called.

I did the same thing with some mates, whose calls quickly escalated
from confusion, to frustration to slamming down the phone in a fit of
rage. This was Rick and Pete’s call:
Hello?

Yes?

Who’s this?
You called me.

No I didn’t.
Yes you did, mate!`

Is this a joke?

And the conversation rapidly deteriorated until one hung up in the
other’s ear.

By contrast, Mum and Claire’s call went like this:

Mum: Hello?
Claire: Hello?

Mum: I finished the dress yesterday so I’ll start on the jacket tomorrow…

Claire: Oh good. Pop in for tea and I’ll give you a hand…
They were so attuned to each other that they didn’t question who had
called whom… or for what reason. As it turned out, they didn’t need one.