General Chat

Thank you all for your kindness.
Mum had some very special friends in Portugal and they're keeping us up to date with things, and explaining the rather convoluted way of things out there - I don't know how we'll ever be able to repay them

Have to agree, in the cold light of reason, there's no point in 'IF', but it does go through your mind.
Mum & her husband chose to move there. They said, when they went. that they'd come back when they were 70. They didn't - their choice.

So sorry to hear your sad news Maggie.

If it's any comfort to you, my Dad died in Spain, whilst we were getting accommodation for him here, I had the what if he had come home earlier scenario, going round in my head for a while, but I really think it would of happened wherever he was.

So don't beat yourself up over it, your Mum wouldn't want that <3

Sending prayers & special thoughts to you & family <3

My thoughts are with you <3

Maggie <3

Condolences to you and your family. xxx

Oh Maggie............I am so very sorry to hear this.

Work will give you compassionate leave surely.......do what is right for you and the family, take care of yourself (((((((((((((HUGS))))))))).

Maggie so very sorry to hear this news, my condolences to all of you.

Please don´t try and second guess about whether things would have been different if your Mum hadn´t gone back to Portugal. You will only make yourself ill.

As suggested celebrate your Mums life during Xmas rather than her passing.

Stay strong. <3

R.I.P. Maggie's Mum.

So sorry to hear this sad news Maggie. It must be a difficult time for you and your family.

From what you say your Mum had good friends in Portugal, it sounds like she was well regarded.

"If" can be the biggest word in the English language, so many questions and no sure andwers.

But you know that your Mum chose to live in Portugal, (even if she was planning to come back next year..).
She followed her dream, I'm sure that she wouldn't want her death to cause you to not follow your own dreams.

My own mother died while I was away on holiday. She was well when I left, I never imagined that I would never see her again. Believe me, my thoughts were filled with "what if".

As DET said, celebrate her life on Christmas day, not her passing.

Condolances and hugs,

Am very sorry for your loss Maggie, especially poignant at this time of the year.
Hope you will be able to think back to happier times with her very soon. Hope you and your family can still get together and are able to console each other,, find strength with each other.

Eileen x

So sorry to hear this. It will be hard for you in the short term but in time you will remember your mum with joy and treasure your memories of her.

My condolences to you and your family.

Sorry to hear this - it must be so difficult for you being in a different country, not quite knowing what to do. You must still be in the flight/or fight period of mourning.

If no one else has recent knowledge of the legalities of compassionate leave from a local authority, I can ask a close family member who does. At least your's will have a skeleton staff working tomorrow.

Celebrate her life on Christmas Day, not her Passing.

XX

Maggie,

You were wondering IF things would have been different had your mum had stayed in England. No one knows the answer to that question sadly but, those two little letters IF are in the middle of the word LIFE.

I hope that, when things have settled - as they will, you will be able to look back and remember your mum's life and all the things you shared together. Cx <3

So sorry to read this, Maggie.

Condolences to you and your family.

Maggie so sorry to hear about your mum,
sending my condolences to you and your family, x

Maggie, I am so sorry to read this news, what a dreadful shock for you and all the family, and so very sad that your Mum was planning to return to the UK in February and now she won't be with you here. I hope you can make the necessary arrangements to go out there and not lose holiday entitlement or pay.

May your Mum rest in peace, reunited now with her husband. I will be thinking about you.

Lizxx

Dear Maggie,

Condolences to you and your family, may your dear Mum rest in peace. So very sorry for your loss.

Carole

My condolences to you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss, but I hope ypu will have many happy memories to help ypu through the pain that you all must be going through. God Bless ypur dear Mom.

RIP. Condolences to you and your family.

Andy

Thank you all again for your kind thoughts.
I've e-mailed work with reference to compassoinate leave, as I'm on annual leave until 2 Jan, and if i can't get compasionate leave to go out in mid-late January, will have to cancel my 2 days leave between Christmas and new year.

Wonderful friends of mums in Portugal have offered to do a lot of the 'run of the mill' officialese for us (Portugal likes things in triplicate, two languages etc - mum had to provide both a Portuguese death certificate and a translated one when her husband died before she had access to joint accounts etc.), so all 4 of us going out there to sign everything in a week is quite daunting.

Just wonder, if she'd stayed in England, and not gone back, whether things would have been different...