Katie, The Able Label's Founder, recently interviewed her 93 year old grandfather about
her grandmother who had Parkinson’s and is sadly no longer around. Before she
passed away, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
together. He is not in the slightest bit an old romantic but the interview
melted all our hearts!
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| Katie's grandpa and grandma together |
Q. How did you meet grandma?
A. Your grandmother had just got back from America where she
went to be an au pair and was very home sick at the start. A mutual friend got
a group of us together and we were introduced, instantly getting on. We spent
two years courting before we got married. I couldn’t have asked for a better
wife.
Q. What impact did grandma have on your life?
A. My first wife died when your dad was only twelve. This
was very hard especially with three boys to care for. But after meeting your
grandma, she just fitted in and raised the boys as if they were her own without
ever trying to replace their mother. We didn’t rush anything wanting to see how
it all worked out but life with her just got better and better. We had the most
wonderful holidays together which I will never forget.
Q. How did you propose to grandma?
A. Your grandma wanted a future to look forward to together and
that meant marriage. So eventually I built up the courage and asked her ‘how
about getting married?’ and she instantly replied, ‘yes, I’d love to!’ I didn’t
get down on my hands and knees or anything like that.
Q. When did you notice something wasn’t right with
grandma?
A. I saw her hand tremor when she sat next to me in
the chair one evening. I told her to keep it still but she couldn’t, even after
holding it. I took her to the doctors but it was difficult to diagnose. Only
when the Parkinson’s developed to a point where her speech was affected did she
get a diagnosis with a specialist saying, ‘you’ve got Parkinson’s disease my
dear’.
Q. How did your life change together?
A. Dementia started kicking in. She was forgetting a
lot of straightforward things. Did things she never did before, silly
things. I had to put her to bed each night. She’d wake up at 2am thinking
someone was at the door, or that she’d left the lights on - I knew then her
memory was going. But we worked together
and muddled through as best we could. She used to start doing the veg and not
complete them, so I’d finish them off.
As the Parkinson’s progressed, sometimes she wouldn’t say
a word, which was tough. Other times, I’d tell her how much I loved her and she
would reply, ‘I know you do you silly old fool’ and I knew Sheila was still
there.
Q. What will you always remember grandma for?
Without a doubt her love of clothes – she had wardrobes full
and some things she’d never even worn! She wouldn’t buy anything cheap and
cheerful, it had to be good quality. She knew good clothes and particularly
loved dresses. I used to tell her, ‘you’re worse than the Queen’ as she never
seemed to wear anything twice! Twice a month, she’d go on shopping trips with
her friend Molly and always came back loaded with bags!
I will never forget one floral dress she had – she looked
stunning in it. It stands out in my memory more than anything. When I think of
her, I think of her wearing that dress.
It makes me so proud that you share her love of clothes and
especially that you are doing clothes that would help people in the same
situation she was in. She desperately wanted to keep her style but became
unable to dress into it. She would have been equally as proud and would have
loved The Able Label clothes.
This Valentines Day, spare a thought for those who have lost
loved ones and cherish the moments you do have with your loved ones.
