Sonia Beldom

Let me whisper in your ear … I’d love it if you tuned in to the MUMBELIEVABLE podcast, because every little listen helps, and it got me thinking back to my earliest memories of storytelling. My darling mum wasn’t very good at bedtime stories as she got bored with the traditional tales and would wonder off into a fantasy story that was usually very scary or had something inappropriate at its core.

Don’t make me laugh. No, seriously don’t. 48 hours after surgery I’m trying to keep my life as boring as possible. Tricky in this household with my wonderfully comedic husband. And it’s a rare moment when HE says “don’t make me laugh” as he’s been coughing so much his ribs are aching. *Don’t mention coffin – oops*. I’m just home after the same operation my beloved mum had after my brother was born and now I know how she felt. She said she’d had her tubes tied off so no more babies could come.

Mum passed five years ago and it seems like the day before yesterday. I stayed and talked to her for hours after she died and even though I know she’s gone, I always feel her mischievous presence everywhere. I’m sitting in the chemo clinic waiting for treatment and Maura has just taken my lunch order. When mum worked as a a cleaner and domestic in Edgware General she used to bring me home whole meals on china plates, covered in clingfilm. Sometimes the food was a bit mushed together.