tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post8023746590426835226..comments2023-05-02T12:33:58.182+01:00Comments on Perpetually In Transit: A month full of memories Perpetuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-32078093856731464592015-05-06T16:37:41.554+01:002015-05-06T16:37:41.554+01:00And why not?. A perfect way to celebrate a holiday...And why not?. A perfect way to celebrate a holiday. :)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-77860353680628522952015-05-06T15:37:20.372+01:002015-05-06T15:37:20.372+01:00I suspect your sister is right: most of our family...I suspect your sister is right: most of our family birthdays are either April or September: i.e. summer and Christmas holiday babies! ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-44396782970278460122015-05-05T22:39:55.315+01:002015-05-05T22:39:55.315+01:00Thanks, DB. Yes, we have our ups and downs like an...Thanks, DB. Yes, we have our ups and downs like any family, but I feel very fortunate to be part of it and I love them all dearly.<br /><br />One of my sisters naughtily traced back the glut of April birthdays to happy summer holidays the year before and there may be truth in her jest. :-) As for quoting Eliot, he and Browning are the poets who spring automatically to my mind when April is mentioned and I'm sure to yours too. Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-11063773467879507062015-05-05T21:56:31.040+01:002015-05-05T21:56:31.040+01:00What shines through here is your love for your fam...What shines through here is your love for your family. You've written them a lovely little tribute here.<br /><br />Our April, too, is a month stuffed with family birthdays, though with fewer poignant memories crammed into it than yours. (And oh, I'm sorry, I've just written my first post in a month and now see that I have been very unoriginal in referring to Eliot too!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-87436543951572119712015-05-05T16:40:27.858+01:002015-05-05T16:40:27.858+01:00It is, Kathy, but life can be pretty bitter-sweet ...It is, Kathy, but life can be pretty bitter-sweet at times. Yes,I feel very fortunate in the love I've known and the love I still experience. Happy belated birthday wishes to you too. I'd forgotten that your birthday falls so close to mine. My immediate ancestors weren't very long-lived on either side, so reaching 70 next year will be quite a milestone for me too. As for the wedding anniversary, we're hopefully on the countdown to our golden. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-57123440409274729832015-05-05T04:39:56.352+01:002015-05-05T04:39:56.352+01:00It really is a bittersweet month for you, Perpetua...It really is a bittersweet month for you, Perpetual. It's so wonderful, though, that through sorrow and celebration, there has been so much love in your family! And happy belated birthday! Yours is just a day before mine and I left the sixties this year! I'm only the second person on the McCoy side of the family to reach 70, so I'm grateful. And congratulations on 47 years of marriage! A real achievement for you both!Dr. Kathy McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903015507894951725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-30078039071228994062015-05-04T22:10:34.632+01:002015-05-04T22:10:34.632+01:00Thanks, Ricky, so am I. I'm fortunate that no ...Thanks, Ricky, so am I. I'm fortunate that no month of the year only has a sad anniversary for me. All are a mixture, just as life itself is and April also has our wedding anniversary which is always very special. You'll find that reaching the age at which your mother died has a particular poignancy.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-22622424875790891982015-05-04T18:48:31.853+01:002015-05-04T18:48:31.853+01:00I'm glad your sad anniversaries are somewhat c...I'm glad your sad anniversaries are somewhat counterbalanced by happy ones, such as meeting DH the day before your 21st birthday & the birthdays of your grandsons. My mother died during Holy Week at the beginning of April, 35 years ago in 1980. My next significant date is in August this year, when I shall hopefully pass the age my mother was when she died. Rickyhttp://www.rickyyates.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-78994792355774956912015-05-04T17:28:04.869+01:002015-05-04T17:28:04.869+01:00Thanks, Pondside. I do love going through our old ...Thanks, Pondside. I do love going through our old photos, though most are still in hard copy only. These months happen and I would always rather remember with a mixture of happiness and sadness than not remember.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-50412868871586602382015-05-04T15:54:31.083+01:002015-05-04T15:54:31.083+01:00April is for you as May is for our family. Lovely...April is for you as May is for our family. Lovely memories, even for the saddest anniversaries, where there is loving family. Your photos are lovely!Pondsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407539138546412482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-29300984233807965092015-05-04T10:41:58.946+01:002015-05-04T10:41:58.946+01:00It looks like clusters are very common, Sarah, but...It looks like clusters are very common, Sarah, but it's good that yours are a mixture or just a nice happy one.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-7734469798301378332015-05-04T09:04:25.450+01:002015-05-04T09:04:25.450+01:00April is a busy one for my family too - births and...April is a busy one for my family too - births and deaths, first meetings, etc. September is another busy one for birthdays. :)Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195684182481935384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-82706125692891124672015-05-03T23:35:47.585+01:002015-05-03T23:35:47.585+01:00Thanks, Rosemary. He's working very hard, so w...Thanks, Rosemary. He's working very hard, so we really hope everything goes well.<br /><br />Yes, the clustering of dates can be very pronounced and yours sounds even more extreme than mine. But thankfully for you it is a happy, if perhaps rather expensive, cluster. :-) So much gift-buying in a short time must be hard work for you.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-48390079112002450512015-05-03T22:33:40.937+01:002015-05-03T22:33:40.937+01:00It is strange the way in which anniversaries of bo...It is strange the way in which anniversaries of both happy and sad occasions often occur in clusters, and for you April is obviously a particularly poignant month. Nearly all of my immediate family, sons, grandchildren and both DiLs all have their birthdays following soon after Christmas, needless to say this gives me a headache every year!! <br />Do hope that your grandsons exams go well for him, it is a tense time.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-65510317221892156632015-05-02T17:23:30.040+01:002015-05-02T17:23:30.040+01:00That's exactly it, Kristie. I've sometimes...That's exactly it, Kristie. I've sometimes been taken completely by surprise at an upwelling of grief after a long period of getting on with life again. All sorts of things can act as a trigger, though music or a long unseen photo are particularly likely to do so. Thankfully there are a lot of happy dates in my life with more coming along all the time.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-47516425522618226792015-05-02T15:34:54.205+01:002015-05-02T15:34:54.205+01:00It sounds like April is a happy-sad month for you....It sounds like April is a happy-sad month for you. It's interesting how grief can stay dormant, then suddenly surface again and leave you feeling a bit raw. Maybe never as much as when the loss first occurred, but still, it's there. It's nice the month is interspersed with some happy things to balance out the sad ones. kristieinbchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08620113214111945592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-84013029349023943942015-05-02T08:28:36.275+01:002015-05-02T08:28:36.275+01:00I wish I knew, Sally, and also how to slow time do...I wish I knew, Sally, and also how to slow time down as it seems to speed up with age. :)<br />I too love the freshness and hope that spring brings to April, but they also heighten the poignancy of these anniversaries. I should have mentioned my dear father-in-law's birthday on the 13th, another lovely man gone far too soon. But like you I'm grateful for my children and grandchildren who make life so fulfilling and also great fun. Those grandsons keep me young!Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-89305440653442213782015-05-02T01:02:39.327+01:002015-05-02T01:02:39.327+01:00April is like that for me. My dear father, a favo...April is like that for me. My dear father, a favorite aunt, a too early lost cousin, and my dear daughter were all born in April. I love April, but it brings up so many memories of those now gone. I have no other month with a cluster of birthdays of those no longer with us like I do in April. <br /><br />Congratulations on your your anniversary and on reaching the end of your seventh decade. Life truly is short. How does it all move so quickly?Sally Wesselyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06470453773515491625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-64240520579654986402015-05-01T15:55:26.041+01:002015-05-01T15:55:26.041+01:00It's interesting how these things can cluster,...It's interesting how these things can cluster, Penny, and of course a death on a birthday, or vice-versa, adds another dimension for ever. I remember coming home from my college interview in December 1964 to find that in my absence my first niece had been born on the anniversary of my grandmother's death four years before. Joy and sorrow mingled and I can never forget that date. This intermingling of birth and eath makes the church's belief in the communion of saints very real to me.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-65905770405561857232015-05-01T15:38:37.069+01:002015-05-01T15:38:37.069+01:00I'm sure you're right, PolkaDot, and that ...I'm sure you're right, PolkaDot, and that evolution is different for each individual and family. Your month is July and Marion's is March and mine April, with November a close second, with other special days more evenly scattered through the year. I'm looking forward very much to adding a new great-nephew to the list. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-61905186157381914122015-05-01T15:30:14.762+01:002015-05-01T15:30:14.762+01:00And there's another I forgot, Patricia, which ...And there's another I forgot, Patricia, which is my father-in-law's birthday on the 13th. It makes April a reflective month for me as well as a happy one with all the birthday celebrations. I too love those photos of the grandsons enjoying the river. They are both growing very fast and Grandson#1 is considerably taller and leggier now. I have to stand on tiptoe to hug him! As for our wedding photo, we were very young and very broke and very happy and have been very blessed in our years together.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-12156121731076574322015-05-01T15:22:06.701+01:002015-05-01T15:22:06.701+01:00I think these things work out differently for each...I think these things work out differently for each individual and family, Linda. DH's pattern is quite different from mine, with his significant dates scattered pretty evenly throughout the year. It's always harder if a sad anniversary coincides with a major festival such as Christmas.or a time of reflection such as Remembrancetide, whereas happy dates add joy wherever they occur. Like you I'm always grateful to be here to watch our grandchildren grow up, something my parents and DH's father were deprived of and which they would have enjoyed so much.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-7332709833016975002015-05-01T15:13:54.235+01:002015-05-01T15:13:54.235+01:00No competition, not a shred of implication that ot...No competition, not a shred of implication that others don't feel things as deeply or more deeply than me, whatever their age. Just my reflection on my particular month of memories.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-72093410172821025232015-05-01T14:01:32.712+01:002015-05-01T14:01:32.712+01:00You could be writing about me and my family's ...You could be writing about me and my family's joys and sorrow in April, Perpetua, and May carries some of the same. My niece being born on the anniversary of my grandmother's passing a few years before, and wedding anniversaries and birthdays. It is interesting, isn't it, how dates and months stand out for so many reasons. <br /><br />We had a rash of of family deaths on members' birthdays for several years. It came to a point of critical mass - the my grandnephew had the grace to be born on my birthday (the day on which my own uncle died). Joys and sorrows; you paint them together in words here so beautifully. Penny O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14665025558373015362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-12510823101057447572015-05-01T12:25:06.806+01:002015-05-01T12:25:06.806+01:00I think the significance of certain months evolves...I think the significance of certain months evolves over the years Perpetua - July has always meant my DH' s birthday on 3rd & our wedding anniversary on 20th but unless he arrives more than 2 weeks early or later than his due date it will also include the birthday of our expected grandson!PolkaDothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753780150155246671noreply@blogger.com