YouWish

My mother died 3 weeks ago. It was very unexpected.  I was sure that she would make it through the final 2 doses of chemotherapy and we would take her on holiday to Sicily, as we were planning. Yes she was fighting cancer, but she had successfully fought off the first part. It seemed such a certainty to me then. But sadly now it is all over. As my godmother said to me afterwards, becoming an orphan is never easy, whatever age you are. How right that is.

My mother was a fighter. She was an Australian who had lived in many parts of the world. She had married my father here in England and after their divorce began a nomadic trail, living in different countries and trying out new places. She had lived many adventures and was afraid of nothing and no one. She had a full life. There were things that she wanted to do still but she had few regrets. She had successfully come to terms with everything that had passed in her life. And in the end she had settled back in France, near Cognac.

I know that when she died her biggest regret would have been not saying goodbye, because we had so many plans. We were also going to move her to Paris to be closer to her friends and family. She would have loved to have gone to Sicily again, once she was feeling stronger. She would have loved some wine, nice food and amusing conversation, as the sun settled over the sea. But actually she would have been content that she had tried most things and done most of what she had wanted.

She hadn’t taken up the Internet or email yet as she loved the phone, but I know that she loved the idea of You Wish. She loved the concept of getting other people to do the work for you, of getting stuff done, of living life to the full. She could see no reason for not doing what you wanted and no reason for carrying around a large to do list. There was no time like the present to say you wanted and try and get it. And that’s the thing. We all only have one life and yet we all have tons of things that we never get round to, especially for ourselves. Why wait any longer. Now’s the time to post what services you want that will make your life better or more enjoyable. Is it someone to do your garden or is it a programme to get you fitter and healthier. Whatever is it my mother would recommend you crack on as you never know how long you have and death and taxes come to us all!

Thanks

Chris