Guest Post By My Mum: A Strange Coincidence

So far, all my Mum's guest posts have been immensely popular - most of them more so than my own posts ;-) So, here is another one for all of you who like reading them! (If you're new to my blog or wish to re-read an older guest post, simply click on the "Guest Post" label.)

A Strange Coincidence

The 14th of this month would have been my mother's 101st birthday. She died in 2001. Of course I was thinking of her the whole day; many experiences we had together, and my thoughts went back to my childhood, which was a very happy one.

After my father's death in 1989 things became a bit harder, she became blind, had mobility problems. and was often not in the best mood - you can imagine. Sometimes I was not as patient as I should have been, I confess, and I do regret this today very much, but we shared some really good  times.

On her birthday I was watching TV while I was knitting, and a documentary came up about a famous village in Switzerland called Zermatt.

I stopped knitting and watched attentively. The reason was that my mother and I made a trip together in the 1980s. Her great desire was always to travel by the Bernina-Express, a train travelling through beautiful landscape with great views of the Swiss mountains. So we booked 1 week, with a hotel in Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn. At that time, she could still see very well, only her legs were not the best, but sitting in a train was not too hard for her.

We stayed at a hotel with views of the Matterhorn. And the next morning my Mum woke me up with the words: "You must get up and have a look, please, wake up!"

My whole life I've been (and still am) a late sleeper, so I was a bit angry about this at 6 am while on holiday. But I rose anyway, and what I saw was really transcendental: 

The Matterhorn was shining in a gorgeous sunrise, the top was all pink and orange! We both were so impressed, we stood on the balcony of our room and did not speak a word, just watching in silence. 

The whole "performance" lasted only a few minutes, but I was thankful that my mother shared this magic moment with me, completely unforgettable.

I know that people come from far away to Zermatt to see this, and often enough they have to leave dissapointed, because the mountain top was in fog, clouds and mist all the time. To see it all pink is rather rare, we spent only one night there and were so lucky!!

As for the coincidence: Just on Mum's 101st birthday, they were showing this on TV, and they also showed the Matterhorn at sunrise! Tears came to my eyes when I remembered Easter 1985.

- - - End of guest post - - -

When my Mum sent me her draft for this post, I felt tears welling up, too. I am so glad my Mum is still around, and we keep sharing so many good times - all our walks, family meals, outings, visits to fashion shows and so on! If you still have your parents, make sure you spend as much time with them as possible.

And Mum, I don't think you have anything to regret. You were looking after your Mum very well when she needed you, and losing your patience every now and then is only human and certainly understandable; I know what she could be like...! 

(Picture from www.zermatt.ch)