My Mum, Peggy Stone May 25, 1930 - August 18, 2011

My wonderful Mum gently passed away while my sister Lorraine held her in her arms and as sad as it was to let her go, it was her time. There was no suffering, no pain, she had lived her life, raised her children, enjoyed her grandchildren and said her goodbyes. She was without a doubt, the kindest person I have ever met. She only saw the good in everyone and always put others before herself.

I remember when we were children, our parents used to take us for long walks on the Sussex Downs and wrapped up for inclement British weather, my Mum would invaribaly end up carrying everyones coats, jumpers, the blanket for a picnic and goodness knows what else.  Yet she never complained, never expressed discomfort, just glowed in the fact that everyone was having a good time - this is just one small example of her complete selflessness.

My personal memories are plentiful but one of my favourites was back in the eighties and a beautiful summers evening in our garden. We looked up in the sky and saw a hot air ballooon quite some distance away and we decided to chase it in the car. We drove for miles, paying no attention to direction or time, just following and it was beautiful and my Mum laughed in delight at the simple indulgence. She just loved hot air balloons!

And so now my Mum is taking her own hot air balloon ride to a place where I cannot follow and all I can do is look to the sky and wish her a beautiful journey and say farewell until our spirits reunite and dance in the wind.