Loss | But I Smile Anyway...

#Tanka Tuesday (On a Thursday) #Poetry CHhallenge NO. 220, #Poetschoice #Etheree – In Memorandum

08 Apr 2021 29 Comments

by Ritu in #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge Tags: #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Etheree, Loss

Colleen’s Syllabic poetry challenge this week is Poet’s Choice:

Souls
Traverse
From body
To higher plains
Today you leave us
I can feel you, above
As you begin your journey
Fly high, my darling Mamaji
As you leave, you take a piece of me
You may be gone, but never forgotten

RItu 2021

This morning, at 5am, UK time, I will be attending the funeral of my beloved uncle, my Mamaji. This is dedicated to him. 🙏🏽💜

https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2021/04/06/tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-220-poetschoice/

Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 317 – Loss

04 Apr 2021 57 Comments

by Ritu in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Loss, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sunday

“You will always be in my heart… Because in there you’re still alive.
Jamie Cirello

Thank you, Spidey for helping me to find a quote befitting my feelings today.

Yes, across the world, folks will be celebrating Easter, and the ressurrection of Christ, but for me, the day is coloured with a different hue.

You see, yesterday, we lost my uncle.

He’d been battling with the Big C, and the last week, we were all on tenterhooks, knowing that, any day, the phonecall would come, giving us the news we were dreading.

We had time to come to terms with what was imminent, but, let’s be honest, nothing can ever prepare you for the loss.

My uncle, Mamaji, the younger of my mum’s two elder brothers, was a wonderful soul. With his penchant for funny hats, caps, and golf, he was the life and soul of many an occasion.

There he is, holding me as a baby, and around my wedding, standing on the right.

My biggest regret was that I didn’t get to see him recently. They lived in Kenya, and Australia, and it had been nearly ten years since we last met, physically.

Had this pandemic not hit, his plan had been to come and spend the summer here in the UK, so he could create more memories with us, but the Big C, as well as this awful virus, robbed us of that chance.

Grief is a strange thing. What usually helps us to get through, is the support of others. Right now, however, given lockdowns, and pandemics, my mum can’t fly to be with her family, in Australia, where her nephew and nieces, and sister-in-law, are grieving the loss of their father, and husband. And she can’t even go to Kenya to be with her older brother, so they can grieve together.

What’s even tougher, is that, even though we are in the same country, even we can’t be together, to support one another.

Mamaji, slipped away, surrounded by his immediate family, with his siblings on a video call, with him too.

It makes my heart happy, to know he was with everyone he loved.

And it’s strange, but I wrote a flash fiction piece, just the other day, about someone slipping away. Mum said he looked happy, and finally at peace, as he took those final breaths.

Rest In Peace, Mamaji 🙏🏽💜

Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps.

Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 301 – Angel

13 Dec 2020 39 Comments

by Ritu in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Angel, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Loss, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sundays

“As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.”
Cassandra Clare

Thank you, Spidey for such a touching quote today.

Yesterday, I received the news that a very precious person, my aunt, passed away.

Malli Bhua was one of my Pops’ sisters. She lived in America, and after a wonderful 94-year life, she bid us farewell, and went to meet her Maker.

She was the sweetest of souls. A woman who was peaceful, through and through. Spiritual, with an aura of someone special about her.

We lived in different countries. I hadn’t seen her for many years, but our love was still strong. The memories I do have of her, will always stay close to my heart.

I am just thankful that Pops was able to spend time with her last year, on a trip to see her. We have some precious videos of her, bedridden as she was, even then, kissing the phone screen as she saw videos and photos of her great nephews and niece.

He’s sad. We’re all sad.

But grateful that she is no longer living a life stuck in bed, unable to do anything for herself, anymore. She is at peace, now.

My Malli Phua will never be forgotten.

RIP my beatiful Aunt 🙏🏽

Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps.

One-Liner Wednesday – #1LinerWeds – Loss

15 Nov 2017 44 Comments

by Ritu in #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday, Family, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Family, Linda G Hill, Loss

Poignant:

“If you love someone, show them, not tomorrow, but today – life has a funny way of foiling plans…” – Ritu

Thinking of a precious soul who left us yesterday. RIP Nanaji – you will be missed by us all.

For Linda’s #1LinerWeds Challenge.

Beneath The Apple Blossom – Kate Frost #BookReview

11 Aug 2017 10 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Beneath the Apple Blossom, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Family, Kate Frost, Loss, miscarriage, Support, Trying to concieve

Another week of the holidays done, another book read.

A while back (possibly even a year back), I read an interview with an author called Kate Frost. Her then newly released book, Beneath The Apple Blossom, looked to be something that would be of interest to me.

The Blurb:

Four women, linked by blood ties, friendship, betrayal, loss and hope, struggle with the choices they’ve made and the hand that life’s dealt them.

All Pippa’s ever wanted is marriage and kids, but at thirty-four and about to embark on IVF, her dream of having a family is far from certain. Her younger sister Georgie has the opposite problem, juggling her career, her lover, a young daughter and a husband who wants baby number two.

Pippa’s best friend Sienna has a successful career in the film world, and despite her boyfriend pressurising her to settle down, a baby is the last thing she wants. Happily married Connie shares the trauma of fertility treatment with Pippa, but underestimates the impact being unable to conceive will have on her and her marriage.

As their lives collide in a way they could never have predicted, will any of them get to see their hopes realised?
…

As I read it I was amazed at how emotional it made me feel. I remembered the time when we were struggling. The anacronyms like 2ww and BFN and BFP flooded back, as I remembered the wonderful forum I had joined when we were struggling with conceiving, and after, for the support of others in the same situation.

It’s true though, not every woman wants to be a mother. And not everyone can make a good one either.

But the pain that accidental pregnancies can cause to others, I’ve experienced that too, while we were in the midst of our own journey. Hearing about someone talking about a baby that wasn’t expected or wanted, was like a knife being plunged into my womb, and twisted. Yes

Yes.

It felt that extreme.

Yet when there were others who were expecting, and it was a much longed for baby, I was overjoyed for the parents-to-be.

Deep down I knew that one day, our turn would come. And it did, twice, with two angel babies in between.

Beneath the Apple Blossom: The Hopeful Years Book 1 by [Frost, Kate]

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My reviews on Amazon and Goodreads:

What a great book!
Having been through fertility struggles of my own, it was amazing how I related to a lot of the issues faced by 2 of the main characters in this book.
It’s very true, that as much as some women crave to be mothers, there are those that really don’t feel it’s for them, and this book explored both sides of the same coin.
The realistic writing brought back some painful memories for me, but also that sense of camaraderie that I too felt in a very special online forum that I had also joined while trying to conceive.

Buy it on Amazon here.