They Left Us Everything (17 page)

We frequently lined up after church for photos. In winter, when the ice shelf formed on the lake and icicles hung from the windows, Dad taught us how to make newspaper fire logs as he carefully stoked his fire.

After Mum sacrificed Dad’s vegetable patch for her pool, guests were invited to use bathing suits from the big wicker basket

If we needed Mum, we could usually find her playing tennis

In the summers, we often drove south to Mum’s family in Virginia

Mum wearing her favourite red sunglasses, which were shaped like a pair of laughing lips

Pelmo in her Tibetan ceremonial robes

Mum always said she thought her purpose in life was to make people laugh ... and her she surprises Dad with her Rudolf nose

We held two weddings at the house after Mum died, and she ordered perfect weather for both

In 1971, I wore Granny’s wedding dress, which had been worn by many brides before me

By 2010, the dress had disintegrated, so my daughter Virginia (above with her father) started a new tradition

A Fate Worse Than Death