www.nickhodge.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grief

“It’s Not a Sad Time” was one of my Nana’s last wise phrases whispered to my Mum. Said more for those around her than her­self, it is a canny reflec­tion that behind the syn­thetic opi­ods her mind was active.

It is a phrase that I am pon­der­ing; as the funeral was a cel­eb­ra­tion of her achieve­ments. I only real­ised how she treated every­one as spe­cial. From Dr Agar­wal her final Doc­tor; Dean Mar­tin one of her Abori­ginal stu­dents from the mid 1970’s; to the staff at the Lutheran Homes in Glynde.

It takes a char­ac­ter lar­ger than life to con­stantly impact the lives of so many other for 95 years.

I hold a deep and last­ing respect for those in my fam­ily that dealt unselfishly with this stress­ful part of life. Pal­li­at­ive care, and the very tough decisions that are made go to the heart of why we are alive: to keep living.

In the end, remem­ber: that who we love, and who loves us is all that matters.