Memories of My Mum - From Sean Mine and Darryl’s Mum, Our Wife, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend, is the kindest, most thoughtful person I have ever had the privilege to meet. She left every single life that she touched better and happier than she found it. We in this room are the privileged few that were closest to her and I will be eternally grateful for that. When Darryl and I were growing up, she was always around for us, driving us to countless after-school events that she had arranged, organised and considered in order to give us the best life she could. She was a wonderful listener, but she was great fun too, and I have happy memories of her playing with us in the garden, bouncing on the trampoline before it got dark, when me and Darryl would carry on and she would relax inside with Dad. She was unique, and taught us not to worry about what others might think of us. This was captured perfectly in the purchase of her bright orange Beetle when I was about 12. We could hear and see it coming a mile away from the school, which as a 12 year old is about as embarrassing as it gets. She would have the same 3 or 4 cassettes that she had asked Dad to compile for her playing and she loved every moment in that car. It completely reflected her: bright, individual, and full of positivity. There was not a single day that we came home to anything but a smiling, welcoming face. There was the same welcoming, lovely smile when Dad would come home 3 hours later. We had the perfect childhood home, and our Parents gave that to us. This didn’t change when Darryl and I grew up and moved out. She would always ask about all of our friends and would genuinely listen and care about how everyone was getting on. Whenever I came to visit, I would always return with more than I had brought with me – handwarmers, a light to help me run in the evenings, the latest book she had read, handwarmers, some popcorn for the drive, and a few more handwarmers. Every morning Mum would take a few pictures of her pick of news stories in the Telegraph, and would send these round to the family, just to keep us all in the loop. I told Mum that I’d had to mute the group due to there being too many messages, so she just started sending them to me separately! Just another way that she made everyone know that she was thinking of them. Selflessness was a part of her soul. Aside from countless things she did for us as her children, she gave little gifts to family, friends and neighbours to keep them entertained during the recent lockdowns. Even during her last few weeks, when she was in a lot of pain, these thoughtful little gifts kept coming and being delivered around the country. There were presents still arriving for people after she passed away, presents that she would have known that she would not be around to deliver herself. But this wasn’t important to her – she was again just looking out for everyone. Until her last breath, her caring, considerate, thoughtful mindset never changed. These are the marks not of a human, but of an angel. Whilst she is no longer here with us physically, her spirit will always live on and be with us, shaping who we are. A light as bright as hers will shine forever. She will not just be with us, but future generations and people we are yet to meet will feel her presence and her spirit through the stories that we tell of her. In every story that we tell, every kind thing that we do, every thoughtful little present, every handwarmer we give out, every positive spin we put on a difficult situation, a part of her is living on and smiling through all of us. The impact that she had on us will never leave. The length of time that we receive on this Earth is not a choice we get, but the impact we have on the lives of the people around us is. Our Mum is one of those who had the happiest, most positive impact that we could have dreamed of, and although losing her will always be the most painful part of my heart, having the privilege of knowing her will be an honour that I will carry with me forever. One of the songs that Mum used to play in the car was “Heaven Must be Missing an Angel”. In 1967, Heaven lent us an angel, and, 53 years later, has asked for her back. We are privileged to have known her for that time and I know that none us in this room would swap it for anything. This world was a better place for having her in it. She is where she belongs and one day, when the time is right, all of us will see her again, and we will walk through the gardens of heaven together, where she will feel so at home as she did in her garden here on Earth, and we will smile and laugh and share stories of our adventures. Until then, we will lead happy, full lives, as she did, and as she would want us to, knowing that she is smiling down on us every day.