This is my mum!

Yesterday on a day the Australians celebrate as 'Mother's Day', I had a letter from an Irish friend now living in Melbourne telling me of her engagement and what a wonderful day it was.  This reminded me of my mother's story.  She was a slave for her very large Irish family, her dad worked hard but her mum was slowed down from many pregnancies and miscarriages apart from the 7 surviving children and her mother and father in law here from County Sligo. She had never been to school for more than 2 hours per day for a couple of years or out on a social ocassion because eating came first!  One day she went to the local jam factory where for a few pence (and your own jug) you could have some  - not set very well ! - jam.  As she was leaving she met a young man whom she directed to the factory as he was job hunting.  My dad was 12 years her senior and a foreigner from Oxford!!  He always maintained he had never seen such a beautiful girl. Three weeks later, he collected her from the end of her street, went to the local church at 8.00am and they were married with the Vicar's cleaner and her husband as witnesses.  The happy couple then boarded a bus for Ilkley in Yorkshire leaving a note but no address.  Dad got a job, they rented a cottage and began their 50 years of married life.
When dad died she said she would not mind going too as life would never be interesting for her again.
It wasn't, though we her children tried to make up for his absence, we never could.
She lived on for another 20 years but 'tis true she was never the same without him.