It’s been a tough week. My sister-in-law’s mother, Shannon, died from heart failure last Wednesday after being in the hospital for a couple of days. It was such a devastating shock; she was only 67 years old. Shannon was such a beautiful person, chatty, friendly and with a heart of absolute gold….she would do anything for anybody. Shannon and her husband, Paddy, have been regular fixtures at many of our family get-togethers over the last 20 years, and they have done such an amazing job at filling that huge void left after the loss of our own parents.

Mothering just came naturally to Shannon.

Shannon and Paddy were married for 47 years and were only 3 years shy of their 50th Golden anniversary. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to lose the person you have spent 2/3 of your life with. We often used to joke about how polar opposite Shannon and Paddy both were – Shannon, the chatty socialite, and Paddy, the stoic, reticent soul, who would do anything for his beautiful wife. This was particularly evident at my brother’s wedding when Paddy, the man of few words, delivered the most heart-warming speech that included paying homage to Shannon, the girl of his dreams and the love of his life.

It was truly a beautiful speech.

At the same wedding, my mum was seated next to Paddy and Shannon was seated next to my father at the main table. As soon as the meal was finished, my mum was up and about, doing her socialising – handing out a kazillion jars of jams and biscuits – as she always did;-)

I remember smiling to myself as I noticed Shannon surreptitiously grab the opportunity to move and sit with her husband again. It was such a small thing to notice….. but it touched my heart so

as I thought

“AAh they found their way back together again.”

(Oh, to have a love like that!;-)

So right now, I feel like a mere drop in a vast, overflowing bucket of tears shed by everyone whose life was touched by Shannon — and that’s not even to mention the immeasurable grief of her wonderful husband, her two brothers, her children, and her grandchildren…. all of whom she adored.

But nevertheless,

I just needed to say how much

I loved her.