Reader Jay will be glad to see the back of the summer of 2017... read on to find out why...
Jay says:
It started out with every promise of being a great summer. My family were going on holiday to Blackpool and my older sister Lucy, who is at uni in Birmingham, was coming too. I was so looking forward to seeing her because I had missed her so much. I went clothes shopping with my mum and got some great bargains, and even downloaded the new CC book onto my Kindle to read while I was away. The first sign that things weren't going well was that Lucy seemed a bit withdrawn and moody with me, sometimes snapping at me that I didn't realise how lucky I was. (I'd just finished taking my GCSE exams, so I didn't feel lucky!) Then, as we drove north, the rain started and when we looked up the weather online it said the whole week was going to be wet. The hotel wasn't as good as it looked in the pictures either, and the mood was a bit subdued although we went through the motions and did the funfair, the shops, and booked a couple of shows.
It got much worse, sadly. Halfway through the week, Mum got a call from Grandad telling us my nan had been taken into hospital with a stroke. At that point we abandoned the holiday and drove to Wales to see Nan. It was the first time I have seen anyone so ill - she couldn't talk or move much, though she could squeeze your hand, and she had an oxygen mask on to breathe. Mum said she could hear us so we told her how much we loved her and to get better soon. On the second night, sitting in the family room in the hospital, my sister Lucy told me she was miserable at uni and was dropping out, she had been seeing a counsellor and taking anti-depressants but no matter what she did she still wasn't coping. I understood why things hadn't seemed right and promised to help her tell Mum and Dad.
We didn't get a chance though because Nan died the next morning, and after that the summer was all about funerals and choosing hymns and flower colours for the wreath and everybody crying the whole time. It felt unreal, like everything was happening underwater. I spent a lot of time with Grandad, letting him talk about when Nan was young and they were first together. I have so many memories too, and I can't believe she's gone. Lucy told Mum and Dad two weeks ago and they were upset but they just accepted it in the end. Lucy is still struggling and looking for a job now. It has been the most horrible summer I can ever remember, and I will be so glad to see the end of it. It feels like the end of my childhood and the start of a much greyer, sadder future, but hopefully that feeling won't last forever.
Fab photograph by reader Davina... thank you so much!
Cathy says:
Sometimes in life, all the difficult stuff seems to come at once... no wonder Jay feels low. Things WILL pick up, though, and life will go on. Have YOU ever had a time when everything seemed to go wrong at once? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
Jay says:
It got much worse, sadly. Halfway through the week, Mum got a call from Grandad telling us my nan had been taken into hospital with a stroke. At that point we abandoned the holiday and drove to Wales to see Nan. It was the first time I have seen anyone so ill - she couldn't talk or move much, though she could squeeze your hand, and she had an oxygen mask on to breathe. Mum said she could hear us so we told her how much we loved her and to get better soon. On the second night, sitting in the family room in the hospital, my sister Lucy told me she was miserable at uni and was dropping out, she had been seeing a counsellor and taking anti-depressants but no matter what she did she still wasn't coping. I understood why things hadn't seemed right and promised to help her tell Mum and Dad.
We didn't get a chance though because Nan died the next morning, and after that the summer was all about funerals and choosing hymns and flower colours for the wreath and everybody crying the whole time. It felt unreal, like everything was happening underwater. I spent a lot of time with Grandad, letting him talk about when Nan was young and they were first together. I have so many memories too, and I can't believe she's gone. Lucy told Mum and Dad two weeks ago and they were upset but they just accepted it in the end. Lucy is still struggling and looking for a job now. It has been the most horrible summer I can ever remember, and I will be so glad to see the end of it. It feels like the end of my childhood and the start of a much greyer, sadder future, but hopefully that feeling won't last forever.
Fab photograph by reader Davina... thank you so much!
Cathy says:
Sometimes in life, all the difficult stuff seems to come at once... no wonder Jay feels low. Things WILL pick up, though, and life will go on. Have YOU ever had a time when everything seemed to go wrong at once? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
Aw hope things are looking up soon
ReplyDeleteyou seem very strong and you will get through it all
your future is bright!
believe it!