Building relationships….

This trip to the UK has been a wonderful experience. We have had special, memorable moments as a couple and with family.

Since our last trip, there have been two children born into the family, who we were able to spend time with. Lovely to catch up with others family members too.

My husband has a sister, who has been so lovely in arranging a family gathering and letting us stay in one of her properties and have a quiet base for the last week.

His sister has come to stay for the night as we leave for Yorkshire for a week away tomorrow. My husband has been watching football this afternoon and she asked me if I wanted to go for a drive. We went to a garden centre and then had coffee and cake at the café there.

It was lovely to spend some time together just us two sisters-in-law. We shared with each other some of our previous lives and how it has affected us both. I talked about my second husband and a bit of the background and abuse I had from that relationship. She said to me that I hadn’t really mentioned him before and of course the things I told her were all new to her. She also shared some of her past experiences.

Every time we come to the UK, I get closer to her. In fact, the last time we were here, I remember clearly driving away in the taxi and crying as we left. I am sure there will be tears all round when we go home this time too.

We talked a bit about my Parkinson’s too this afternoon over coffee. I shared with her that my husband and I had had a discussion about the future. I told her that I have said to my husband that when the time comes that I am no longer safe at home, it is ok for me to go into care. I got a little emotional when I was talking about it – she said ‘don’t talk about it if it upsets you!’ I collected myself and said to her that I wanted her to know what my wishes were.

In the event that I need to go into care, my husband will have no family of his own around him. Of course, I have asked my children to look out for him and support him and hope that they will do their best to do so. However, I also want his sister to know how I feel, so that if he rings her in the future to say I have gone into care, she will remember this conversation and support him.

Each time I see her we grow closer and today it just felt right to share some more of my life. She also chose to share with me some things she hasn’t shared before. It is nice to think that we understand each other more and that she supports me.

This trip has been, not just about travelling and sightseeing, but also about strengthening relationships with those we love in the UK.

Hopefully, when we leave at the end of June it won’t be another six years between trips.