Originally Posted by Professional Princess

I dont know your situation but I will tell you a tale.

I use to like most people, moan about their mum. Perhaps repeat certain things we had said and not agreed with.

Rarely went to see her yet alone, stayed with her.

My sister in Cyprus was the same, they had nasty rows over the years and when you have people growing from the daughter to an equal woman in her own rights, well its a battle of oestrogen.

Then I had a call at work to say my mum had collapsed.

Rushing to the hospital in a taxi, I was taken into rescusitation to see my once big mum wired up to heart monitors and in her own little world.

Doctors gently took my sister and I to one side to tell us she was in heart, lung and kidney failure and they could do no more to help her.

Telling friends and family was strange, I felt as though I wasnt in my own body.

I held her tiny little hand, I fed her soup, changed her bed when she spilt her soup and told her more times during that period that I loved her than in my whole life.

Suddenly I hadnt spent enough time with her, hadnt stayed over enough and I was planning to move to the other side of the world to put more distance between us. And quite suddenly, the past seemed irrelevant.

I had to listen to my sister sobbing her heart out in Cyprus as she didnt have the money for a flight to the UK to say 'goodbye'.

I stayed at my friends and cried like a baby, the nightmares haunted me for weeks, waking up screaming shouting for my mum, I needed my mum. Please dont take her away.

Now my mum against everything doctors told us, pulled through and by christ things have changed.

I phone her constantly and the only thing that stops me staying with her now, is the fact I have a broken leg and cant travel.

What am I saying?

I shall tell you. When you are in Australia, if anything happens to the only mum you will ever have, you may not be able to afford to go there and say goodbye.

I realise it will be hard to have her staying for that time but I will suggest something.

Make the most of having her there, make the most of every single day and make it count.

Write a list of all the things you havent done with your mum lately, shopping, eating out, quality time.

Let you mum make the most of her grandchild. Make a video of the time you have left with your mum in the UK.

And when you find yourself getting cross with her, give her a cuddle and never fail to tell her you love her every day and when it counts.

Build up a 'memory box' and put little things in there, pictures, letters etc, anything to remind her.

But whatever you do, don't get cross with her, because you have one life, one mum and one chance to say goodbye should the worst happen.

And it wont be easy when your in Australia.

You will never stop needing your mum.

Good luck in your new life.

(while Im at it, Mum I know I said I love you today, just thought I would say it again.- Love you, Samantha)

Originally Posted by moneypen20

Might be good for you Sam, but we are not all the same and if my mother said she was coming to stay for more than seven minutes I would start panicing and harsh as it may seem KNOW 100% I would never ever want or need to do what you did for yours. When she dies, I will feel relief that I will never hear any negativity from her again and sadness that I never heard any positivity from her. I will spare a few hours being sad that she was never the mother I would like to have had.

It's great to hear when people go on about how they will miss their mothers when they move to Aus or where ever but it also irritates the hell out of me.

Rant over. Apologies to anyone I have pissed off. My opinion only.