Dancing Pigeons

Let’s go back to 2003, the year Black Eyed Peas released ‘Where Is The Love’ and evidently the year that hair braids were all the rage! I remember on various occasions when the sun was out, slapping on the sun cream in between the braids to avoid getting a burnt scalp. Mum spent hours plaiting and we loved them. The above photo was taken when the four of us (Mum, Dad, Amy and I) were staying in a static caravan somewhere in Scotland. I can’t remember the name of the place – all I can recall is that we visited Scotland twice and it rained the entire holiday for both of those times. Despite the downpour, we thoroughly enjoyed both stays.

In the static, I recollect there was a little TV and ‘Titanic’ was on one of the channels. Neither Amy or I had seen the movie before and snuggled up on the sofa with Mum and Dad to watch it. It was raining (surprise, The Wares were in Scotland) outside and it felt like we were on the boat too!!! (I had my lifeboat at the ready.) Myself and Amy still think Jack could have fit onto that piece of driftwood… I also can’t bring myself to watch Titanic now as it’s just too distressing and upsetting!

 

Later that night before went to sleep, Dad was telling us bedtime stories, the three of us lying side by side. Suddenly, we heard a tapping. “Did you hear that?” Dad said, feigning surprise. Amy and I looked at him with wide eyes, “What is it?” we both asked. “It’s those pigeons,” he said. “They must be dancing on the roof again.” Amy and I, only being little, were amazed. “Listen,” Dad said, “They’re dancing again!” We were fascinated, thinking there were pigeons tap dancing on our static’s roof! (It was actually Dad tapping his feet on the static’s wall at the end of the bed!) It’s funny what you believe as a child – Dad would tell us when he was driving and watching us in the rear-view mirror that if we blinked, the volume of the music would increase. We sat there blinking like crazy in the back of the car as Dad increased the volume with the steering wheel controls! We still laugh about it now.

Recently we rooted out boxes and boxes of old photos and they brought back a lot of funny and lovely memories. I know that we can no longer make memories with our Dad, but we treasure the all of the times we did spend with him growing up. He was the best Dad to Ams and I, and the best husband to Mum. I would encourage any of you reading this to always capture the memories - take a photo (even if you're having a bad hair day or woke up with a massive spot) because when you look back that memory will be there and make you feel happy. There are still lots of memories for all of us to create, with Dad watching down on us. He might not be there in person, but I hope he smiles and laughs along with us, sharing the memories. Our very own guardian angel.

Hope you enjoyed the story, Dad was always a cheeky chappy. We have lots of funny memories to share. For those of you who have read our book about Dad’s journey with brain cancer, you’ll have read a few funny family memories in there.

Have a lovely weekend,

Laura x