Across the Miles

I'm posting very early today because I've received some really sad news and I'm not sure that I'll be in any kind of a mood to do much at all tonight.

My Mother-in-Law from my last relationship has been a lovely friend to me all through the twelve years that I was with 'The Pig Hunter' and for the fifteen years since we separated.

Since my split with her son, we've emailed each other a couple of times each year to share our big news and I always looked forward to our contact.

I have been incredibly lucky with my mothers-in-law from all of my relationships and Dorothy was an amazing, vibrant, strong, intelligent, funny, supportive, kind and generous woman whom I admired very much and who was a very positive influence in the difficult phases of my life.

My fondest memories are of her and I drinking wine, singing and dancing around my kitchen in Griffith while we cooked dinner together. We would sit up for hours at night having deep and meaningful conversations about absolutely everything.

She shared so many of her life stories, of which there were many. There were hilarious and hysterical stories along with the devastating and tragic.

Dorothy was always full of good advice and even though she only visited once every year (she lives in New Zealand), I was always excited when we knew she was coming.

When I separated from her son, she said "Well what took you so long!? I could never figure out what the two of you were doing together!"

After I moved to Sydney and while I was working there, she and Ric were in town very briefly, but she made the effort to contact me and we shared a fantastic lunch together where we knew our time was limited and we babbled on trying to share all our news before we were forced to part company again.

That was the last time I saw her and she was looking and feeling great. She was a beautiful woman inside and out and carried herself with such poise and confidence.

I wish I had a photo of her to put on here, but I'm at work and don't have access to them.

I sent her an email a couple of days ago to tell her about The Happy Abode and what was happening with the family and to let her know how happy my life is here in our community.

Today, I received a reply from her husband to tell me that Dorothy is terminally ill and clinging to life in a hospice near Wanganui.

My heart aches and I wish that I'd had the chance to speak to her before she'd reached this level of illness. I feel on the brink of tears and my energy level has dropped to a low that I've not experienced for quite some time.

I'm just trying to focus on the loving relationship that we shared and I want to celebrate the wonderful woman she was - especially to me.

She will know when she's ready.

I guess that this is my goodbye.

Nite all.