The Family Trip
The car is packed and ready to go
Loaded with toys, baby food, bottles
and baby grows;
For we are going to visit
grandparents and stay overnight
Come on we said As the time is
getting tight;
In urgency we rushed out of the door,
eager to get on the road;
After traveling for a while, there’s
a jolt, the car suddenly stops;
We look at each other in horror and
shock
Oh No! There’s something we’ve forgotten…
THE BABY!
Copyright Marion
Anthony
Memories...
Marion Anthony
I am drinking tea with my dad. Someone I have looked up to all my life.
An engineer, he had a workshop in the garden where he made, repaired and
sometimes invented things.
If he was using sharp tools my sister Karen
and I would stand at the open door to watch.
He would describe what he was making. I
learned a lot. He would sing silly songs and tell jokes as we stood watching.
He was entertaining and fun. When I was
very small he made a box on wheels that he attached to his bicycle so I could
accompany him on rides down country lanes.
He would tell me the names of trees and
birds as we went. Later he made us a
tree house with a little ladder and a basket on a rope so
we could haul a picnic up to the platform. At the seaside he created such wonderful intricate
sand castles all the children nearby would come and watch and admire.
I was so proud to have such a clever
dad. He helped with school homework, giving me confidence. Just like him I
loved to learn.
He and Mum proudly drove me to Uni and
I was thrilled to be going.
When mum got cancer, dad took early retirement
and saw her through many successful treatment. At dad’s suggestion they
celebrated by traveling through
------
‘How long will your mum be do you think,’ He
asks, ‘is she shopping?’
Mum’s cancer returned. She died four years ago. Dad now 73, was a clever
man, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago.
He is in rapid decline and gets
distressed if we tell him his beloved
wife has died. He goes out looking for
her. It’s so heartbreaking…
Copyright Marion
Anthony
