My Nursing Sister
Without Prejudice
Helen is 14 years younger than me and has four boys, now, mostly grown. One in the Army, two working and a boy still at school.
She put herself through Uni after working as a Nurses' Aide for the elderly.
Her hubby is a house husband and has been since the boys were tiny.
She is so down to earth and funny, my sis, probably more outspoken and more chatty than me if that's not too hard to believe.
She had a few tough years juggling Uni and 4 kids but she triumphed in the end and is now a Nursing Manager.
Mum and Dad were older parents when my little sister was growing up. They spoiled her and she grew enormously over weight for a kid of 8 or ten. Huge, with thighs that rubbed together and she looked bad and I said so, to Mum. Big mistake, huge !
Mum went off, Helen wasn't fat, she was a bit chubby, a bit chubby, she was obese but Mum wouldn't have it.
And you didn't want to start Mum off then as she was "strange", a lot of the time.
Periods of lucidity when she was medicated, and she hated taking Lithium, making her like a walking Zombie. So she often didn't and when she didn't...........Run!
Helen was 10, and at School, when "Carrie's Mother" decided to visit the School.
Mum had a bee in her bonnet over something with theTeacher and when Helen saw Mum almost bounding up the hill to school, Kaftan flowing she thought,
"Shit!"
And Mum launched herself at the Teacher and Helen launched herself on to Mum's back and she became a fat little whirling dervish for a while.
Mum whipping her around and an Ambulance had to be called. All in front of Helen's Classmates. And by the time Helen was 10 and a bit, Mum had died.
Dad took Helen on as a project and he remarried fairly quickly , 18 months after Mum died. He married Margaret, a Scottish Mother of 8.And Helen loved her new family in the UK, Margaret good to her.
They came out to Australia, with Dad and lived with my older sister and her hubby for a while. It nearly drove my sister mad, as she was not happy Dad had remarried so soon after Mum. But she could do a wicked interpretation of Andy, Margaret's Son.
"Do I like that meat, Mum?? Do I like it. I don't know if I like it, do I like it, Mum ???
And " Shall I have a bath or a shower, mum, it's only ma feet that's dirty, Mum, shall I have a bath or a shower????
They didn't like Australia much, however, missing family and friends, back home. So Dad returned, to the UK Helen stayed with, Jackie and Winn and their family of two girls, Melissa and Tracy. Helen did well at school and was an average teen girl who loved The Radiators and Angels, and we went clubbing quite a few times.
She lost heaps of weight and met her hubby to be and that was that, 4 babies, all boys and happy as a clam for years.
Then she began her studies and the Brothers helped her, by buying her books and fees and maintaining her car. That was a great thing to do for her as she had little or no money at times. Dad returned from the UK, after 3 years of marriage, divorcing Margaret but they remained friends.
He said the divorce was worse than the death, saying,
"When they're dead, you don't have to see them any more"
Poor man, he was lost for a while, living in Dandenong in a small flat and met the lady upstairs, Carol, who eventually became his wife.She was 33 years younger than him and they were together till he died, some 15 years later.
He helped Carol get a house eventually, with her 2 teenage girls and he had a house in McFarlane Avenue. They "visited" with each other and kept the teenage girls at bay, thinking they might see it as inappropriate, given the age difference.
But when you saw them together they didn't look that odd. Dad was young looking for his age and Carol was an old fashioned Hippy type woman.
They loved all the same things, dogs, markets, collecting things and doing them up. When I worked at Carrara Markets they would always call in to see me and they were happy. Living on acreage at Jacobs Well in an old farmhouse which I totally loved.
It was on the top of a hill, surrounded by sugar cane plantations, some nights sitting outside watching the burning cane. It is supposed to kill all the vermin and I wasn't too sure about scurrying things, like snakes. They often had them at the Farmhouse.
It was a traditional Queensland House, verandah back and front, small rooms, high ceilings, shaded windows, timber floors and it was some ridiculously cheap rent per week. Dad worked at the Council Tip a few days a week.
When he retired he filled up the ute with things people threw out and took them home and did them up, making a tidy profit.
And .for Carol who loved them, this is for her xoxo
Love Janette
Helen is 14 years younger than me and has four boys, now, mostly grown. One in the Army, two working and a boy still at school.
She put herself through Uni after working as a Nurses' Aide for the elderly.
Her hubby is a house husband and has been since the boys were tiny.
She is so down to earth and funny, my sis, probably more outspoken and more chatty than me if that's not too hard to believe.
She had a few tough years juggling Uni and 4 kids but she triumphed in the end and is now a Nursing Manager.
Mum and Dad were older parents when my little sister was growing up. They spoiled her and she grew enormously over weight for a kid of 8 or ten. Huge, with thighs that rubbed together and she looked bad and I said so, to Mum. Big mistake, huge !
Mum went off, Helen wasn't fat, she was a bit chubby, a bit chubby, she was obese but Mum wouldn't have it.
And you didn't want to start Mum off then as she was "strange", a lot of the time.
Periods of lucidity when she was medicated, and she hated taking Lithium, making her like a walking Zombie. So she often didn't and when she didn't...........Run!
Helen was 10, and at School, when "Carrie's Mother" decided to visit the School.
Mum had a bee in her bonnet over something with theTeacher and when Helen saw Mum almost bounding up the hill to school, Kaftan flowing she thought,
"Shit!"
And Mum launched herself at the Teacher and Helen launched herself on to Mum's back and she became a fat little whirling dervish for a while.
Mum whipping her around and an Ambulance had to be called. All in front of Helen's Classmates. And by the time Helen was 10 and a bit, Mum had died.
Dad took Helen on as a project and he remarried fairly quickly , 18 months after Mum died. He married Margaret, a Scottish Mother of 8.And Helen loved her new family in the UK, Margaret good to her.
They came out to Australia, with Dad and lived with my older sister and her hubby for a while. It nearly drove my sister mad, as she was not happy Dad had remarried so soon after Mum. But she could do a wicked interpretation of Andy, Margaret's Son.
"Do I like that meat, Mum?? Do I like it. I don't know if I like it, do I like it, Mum ???
And " Shall I have a bath or a shower, mum, it's only ma feet that's dirty, Mum, shall I have a bath or a shower????
They didn't like Australia much, however, missing family and friends, back home. So Dad returned, to the UK Helen stayed with, Jackie and Winn and their family of two girls, Melissa and Tracy. Helen did well at school and was an average teen girl who loved The Radiators and Angels, and we went clubbing quite a few times.
She lost heaps of weight and met her hubby to be and that was that, 4 babies, all boys and happy as a clam for years.
Then she began her studies and the Brothers helped her, by buying her books and fees and maintaining her car. That was a great thing to do for her as she had little or no money at times. Dad returned from the UK, after 3 years of marriage, divorcing Margaret but they remained friends.
He said the divorce was worse than the death, saying,
"When they're dead, you don't have to see them any more"
Poor man, he was lost for a while, living in Dandenong in a small flat and met the lady upstairs, Carol, who eventually became his wife.She was 33 years younger than him and they were together till he died, some 15 years later.
He helped Carol get a house eventually, with her 2 teenage girls and he had a house in McFarlane Avenue. They "visited" with each other and kept the teenage girls at bay, thinking they might see it as inappropriate, given the age difference.
But when you saw them together they didn't look that odd. Dad was young looking for his age and Carol was an old fashioned Hippy type woman.
They loved all the same things, dogs, markets, collecting things and doing them up. When I worked at Carrara Markets they would always call in to see me and they were happy. Living on acreage at Jacobs Well in an old farmhouse which I totally loved.
It was on the top of a hill, surrounded by sugar cane plantations, some nights sitting outside watching the burning cane. It is supposed to kill all the vermin and I wasn't too sure about scurrying things, like snakes. They often had them at the Farmhouse.
It was a traditional Queensland House, verandah back and front, small rooms, high ceilings, shaded windows, timber floors and it was some ridiculously cheap rent per week. Dad worked at the Council Tip a few days a week.
When he retired he filled up the ute with things people threw out and took them home and did them up, making a tidy profit.
And .for Carol who loved them, this is for her xoxo
Love Janette
