I can’t believe we are part way through February already! I have a feeling that this year is going to fly by and I’ll soon be planning for Christmas!! My diary is pretty packed until around June time, however there is one particular date in my diary that is left for one thing only…. remembering my pop’s

Loosing a loved one is never easy for anyone and everyone deals with grief differently and in their own way. It’s been sixteen long long years since a light permanently went out in my family.

The light belonged to my grandad, more affectionately known as Pop Pop or pops by my cousins, my sister and I. He was a loving dad to my mum and my uncle not to mention an amazing husband to my lovely nanny.

He is spoken about often in our house and in our general family unit, there are many stories that we like nothing more than to reminisce about.

Unfortunately he never had the chance to meet my lovely boyfriend Luke, and he won’t see my cousin walk down the aisle in May, and he now also now has great grandchildren who he would adore that sadly he will never meet. But my cousin makes sure that they know who he is and how important was to us. And I’m pretty sure Luke also feels as though he knows him personally because he is spoken about so very often. 

Every year around the time that he left us we have a family get together it’s now become a tradition, a chance for us all to be in the same place and celebrate the life of a man who means so much to us all. We all know It’ll happen every year regardless so we keep that weekend date always free. Something that started out quite small has now turned more into an open house, with plenty of food and drink to go round! Mum or my uncle and aunt will usually do a buffet (a big buffet) and the wine, spirits and beer are on tap!! 

Let me just say…. The food was SO GOOD!!!!!

It may seem odd to some people that we do this, but knowing my pops he would like nothing more than us all getting together, and talking about all our memories we have and the happy times we spent together. The laughter and remembering usually goes on until past midnight! I love hearing stories of my mum and uncle’s childhood growing up in London, I love rehearing the story’s of my pops and all the things he got up too. We also usually spend a fair bit of the evening putting the world to rights too, I mean doesn’t every family?!

For a day that is so sad for my family, my Nanny, Mum and Uncle especially, it’s nice to do something that is so lighthearted, it doesn’t have to be a depressing day where we all sit around and cry, we celebrate his life, we celebrate what he meant to us, and remember him lovingly, and we do all this whilst spending time together, drinking wine and eating buffet food!!

I believe he is looking down on us everyday, and that he most definitely pops in from time to time of that I am almost certain.