Mother's Day 2019

By: James MacLeod - Managing Director, Tobin Brothers Funerals
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Mother’s Day is one of the most marvellous days of the year.   Sadly it took me a long time to realise that and since 1997 which was the last Mother’s Day I celebrated with my dear Mum, Mother’s Day for me has become both a sad and challenging day.   My Mum died a week following Mother’s Day on Sunday 19th May 1997.  In fact Mother’s Day was the last day she was conscious.  I can acutely remember reading my Mum’s Mother’s Day card to her.  It was bloody tough reading those words to her and I vividly remember tears rolling down my face, my voice shaking and my Mum stating that you always write such beautiful words Jamie (as she would often call me).

(Pictured: James, Terry & Norm MacLeod)

My mother had a unique ability to always see the best in people. My Mum would always focus on the positives in everyone and in everything.  She was also a woman of great character.   She had amazing inner strength she would take on leadership, hierarchy….this inner strength helped her confront cancer not once but twice.  She was no yes person, she certainly wasn’t any knock over.  I myself often thought my Mum had some very unique and different views.  As an adult I was to learn how very much ahead of time my dear Mum Tez was.

Both my Mum and Dad worked extremely hard all their lives and they both died far too young.  My Dad was 65 and my Mum was 67.  Together with my siblings Cathy, Peter, Liz and Norman (dec) they gave us great lives and instilled in us the importance of things that matter family, hard work, honesty, love and forgiveness. 

(Pictured: seated – Terry, Norm & James, laying – Peter & Liz, standing - Cathy)

To all those that have their Mums out there this Mother’s Day, celebrate them, embrace them, tell them how much they mean to you, make them feel as special as you possibly can on this day.  In particular I very much encourage you to #sayitnow.  Don’t wait till it’s a week out from your mother’s death as I did. Many told me I wrote and delivered a world class eulogy for my Mum….the best eulogy you can deliver is whilst your mum is alive and #sayitnow.  

I certainly am encouraging my children to celebrate their Mum Louise this Mother’s Day, she sure does deserve nothing less. 

Those of you who have lost your Mum know it can be both a sad and tough day, I get that.   I have those feelings each and every year and they are real. Talk about your Mum, tell your family and friends about them and what they mean to you… That way they continue to live on. Whilst we do not have the physical presence of our Mum we have memories and no one can take them from us.

On Sunday, I will be sure to be raising a glass to my Mum and all the Mums, we wouldn’t be here without them…..as they say our Mum is the only person who carried us for 9 months in her belly, 3 years in her arms and forever in her heart.


Happy Mother’s Day one and all.

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:
Please enter the numbers and letters you see in the image. Note that the case of the letters entered matters.

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

Celebrating the life of Caterina Lorraine Maimur Ulbrick

Caterina Lorraine Maimur Ulbrick 13.12.1961 – 20.02.2024   The ties between the MacLeod and Ulbrick families go back to the mid seventies when both families would camp over at the Sorrent...

Celebrating the Life of Father Gerard Dowling OAM DE

Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE  (1932-2023) Fr Gerard was a close friend of Tobin Brothers, a tremendous writer, radio host, qualified counsellor and a Catholic Priest to the Archdiocese for 65 yea...

Father Gerard Dowling OAM DE celebrates 50 years on radio!

On Sunday 3rd September 2023, Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE celebrated a wonderful milestone of 50 years on Sunday evenings on the radio.   It was in 1973 that Fr Gerard first hosted his first ra...

Lessons from Fr Bob Maguire

In 1960, Rev Fr Robert Maguire AM PE RFD affectionately known to all as Fr Bob was ordained. Over the last 60-plus years, so many of our team members at Tobin Brothers have had the privilege to wor...

The day Queen Elizabeth II came to Frankston

It was Friday 7th March 1986 and I was 15 years old, attending Ballam Park Technical School in Frankston.  One of the largest schools in the area, Ballam Park had been selected for Que...

Celebrating Father Gerard Dowling

  Today we would like to pay tribute to Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE. In recent weeks he celebrated his 90th birthday and also the 49th anniversary of him being on air with the Family Counsellor...

Christmas Message 2021

  In 2020, they said it was a year that we will remember, we can add 2021 to that also. Back-to-back unforgettable years. The last two years have challenged us all in so many varied ways, an...

Escape from Neil’s Wheel: Good Friday Appeal Fundraiser

  Victoria’s Good Friday Appeal, is one of the most important annual events in the state, raising funds to enable The Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne to provide world class care for ...

Christmas Message 2020

In our lifetimes there has never been a more important time to gather. As 2020 commenced, after our country was crippled with bushfires and so many tragically lost their homes and some their loved...

Beating COVID19 is a community effort

It was On 23rd March 2020 that Tobin Brothers Funerals cared for its first COVID19 death. Since that time, we have cared for over 100 clients who have died from this hideous virus. Over my 30 plus ...