Be Timeless

I am beyond excited this week as my grandmother (affectionately known to my family as Grannie Moo and Ma) turned 100. I am in awe at the longevity of this beautiful woman and am quietly chuffed with the fact that I have inherited some wonderful genes – God knows I need them.

One of the most frightening thoughts I had when being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35 was how long I was going to live. My initial fear was that, while it may not have been an immediate death sentence, this disease and its treatments would somehow shorten my life. I must admit that this is a thought that often still comes to me, but one I can do nothing about. All I can do is be as kind to myself in both mind and body and live my life to the fullest.

My Ma is a fabulous example of how to do just that and I truly believe they don’t make them like her anymore. Throughout her life, Ma has experienced as much as life can throw at you. Throughout her life, I saw her complain of her hardships very little and she coped in times where I imagine I would have struggled a lot more.

The longer I live the more I realise that life doesn’t get easier, it’s just that we experience more (good and bad) and consequently work out how to deal with things better. The problem with getting cancer at a young age, is that you feel you’re not yet well equipped to know how to deal with such a disease emotionally. That’s why it’s so important to have role models to guide you in times of need and why I’m so grateful for having these in my life. It makes me passionate about passing these qualities on to my own children because they will inevitably experience hardships in their lives and I want to know they have the life skills to deal with anything.

So my Ma was devastated when I got sick, but she encouraged me through it all despite the fact that some of her comments were quite blunt. At the end of the day, she was always of a kind heart and didn’t want to see her granddaughter go through such suffering. I know that she has been delighted to see how I have turned my experience around into a positive.

It never ceased to amaze me that even in her 90s my Ma made an effort to look nice, always wearing beautiful ensembles with matching jewellery and lipstick. On ordinary days I could smell her Romance by RL wafting through her living area. She always said that having granddaughters like us kept her young and I love the relationship we have had. She loved to comment on the latest outfits I was wearing and I would talk to her about what fashion trends were happening at the time. No doubt she’s seen them all come and go throughout her lifetime. Sadly she is unable to communicate that well these days but squeezing my hand tightly and holding it close to her chest yesterday, she looked me right in the eye, held my gaze and told me she loved me. That was a moment in my life I will never forget and a relationship I am sad will not be around forever.

I think it’s really important that we learn what we can from the generation above; they are full of wisdom despite the fact that we think we know it all. They have the experience and insight that can only come with age. We should always give them that privilege, learn from their advice and know that one day that privilege will be ours.

So I wanted to look nice for my grandma’s 100^thand sometimes you find a dress that is occasion appropriate and makes you feel amazing. This one has done it for me today. I knew that my Grannie Moo would love this dress and was excited to wear it to celebrate her birthday. Sure enough, she loved my dress and so did I.

Today I feature just this one dress in her honour. It is from one of my all time favourite brands, Witchery, where I almost always find something perfect to wear. Today, they have 25% off everything so make the most of it!