Things Gina would have...

Once upon a time, you used to be able to buy Lemon Polos. They were lemon but slightly minty too. Gina loved them and scoured the Internet looking for evidence that they still existed somewhere, years after they disappeared from UK shelves. No trace was found but they cropped up in conversation from time to time. Fast forward to Gina's brother's trip to China last month and what should appear at the end of a restaurant meal but something which looked and tasted suspiciously like a Lemon Polo.... He discovered that it was a catering product.. available in large bags of mixed flavours. Now which part is the lemon flavour? Gina would have loved finding out.

More reminders today.  Gina hated bits i  the butter... just like cooking veg, mentioned in yesterday's post, I am far more careful than I used to be when buttering my toast. Gina would have approved. Later, while walking through Liverpool, we had a quick look round Sostrene Grene; Gina loved the shop in Glasgow. It was one of the last shops she went into before her illness robbed her of that pleasure too.

 ... they are everywhere. It's not just the obvious things though - the photos of Gina or the things kept and displayed specifically to remind us of her. Every day involves doing things which Gina influenced in some way. Every day provides opportunities to realise that Gina would have approved (or disapproved) of what I am doing. Some examples: Today, I randomly remembered that the software I use to edit webpages and to do other programming tasks, was suggested by Gina. I use that every day. Cooking vegetables; I used to cook them quickly in a frying pan - Gina disapproved.  I now turn the heat down a notch or two, as if she's behind me silently tutting. These are just two that have come to mind today.

Last time, I wrote about change and how everything around us seems to be changing - and not for the better. Here's another example. Looking after a sick daughter is just wrong. It's against the natural order of things. Doing the same for your parents is to be expected. It's still hard though - seeing the people you looked up to and relied upon for much of your life, becoming frail and vulnerable.