In Memory of...

On November 19, 2001, my dear mum passed away after battling breast, bone, lung and finally brain cancer for 2 years. Her name, Francine, means triumphant or free, and that is how we think of her today.

She touched so many lives. She was a great listener, a right goof, loyal, kind, gentle and full of peace. I try to tell John as many stories as I can to keep her memory alive and allow him to feel like he knew her in a small way. I'd like to do the same for Sophie, so she can have an idea of what kind of woman she was.

My mum's wishes was to have her ashes scattered in the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) in Switzerland. She grew up a stone's throw away from it's shores her whole life. After she passed away, we flew to Switzerland to have a funeral there for all her Swiss family and friends. On one of the days there, we went out onto the lake, the four of us, with my grandpa on his sailing boat. He had tied a bouquet of yellow flowers to one of the masts. After we scattered the ashes, we also scattered the flowers out onto the lake. To remember her now, John and I scatter flowers out on to a body of water, and pray and think of her.

Last night, we realised it was the anniversary of her passing and so John, dad and I cut some roses from our rose-bush and headed back to our pool. We definitely still feel the lack of her in our lives, particularly with the arrival of our baby girl, but yet we are grateful for all that we have received these last 9 years - three spouses, a plethora of babies, a greater closeness in our family. We'll still always think of her and work to keep her memory alive.