I remember claiming in my last post that the littlest man in my life had 'turned my world upside down.' Little did I know that at the end of April, as I lay on the sofa recovering from an op to remove my ruptured appendix, the biggest man in my life was about to turn my world in a totally unimaginable direction - in fact as always he had to take it one step further and literally walk out of it.
Sadly my final memories of NYC are of losing my amazing dad (the Turk) and rushing back to the UK to say goodbye. It's hard to know where to take this post from here, what my fellow Margraves and I have experienced over the past five months is indescribable. Personally I'm not entirely sure I have got over the shock and half imagine him walking in bellowing, 'you making the tea Donks?'
If I'm totally honest a lot of my grief so far has been for my son, after all I know what a total dude the Turk was, with his larger than life personality, magnetic yet-not-entirely-pc sense of humour and his amazing ability to simply just make everything ok, but Huds will never experience this for himself. And while I'm at it, I'm also pretty bitter that dad will never get to see what an absolutely amazing little boy Hudson is becoming. They are missing out on each other and so far not a day's gone when I haven't thought about this. Yet every time I look at Huds with his big blue eyes, multiple chins, trademark mop and infectious laughter, I see my dad and that's where I find my peace. There simply wasn't enough room in the world for two such big personalities and not being a fan of growing old, dad graciously stepped out and let Huds steal the show. I'm just eternally grateful that they got to spend the first month of Hud's life together and that I got to spend some quality time with dad away from the stresses of work - January 2015 will always be one of the most precious months of my life.
Mum's birthday bash
Accepting Dad's Lifetime Achievement Award
I've got a lot of love for these ladies
However despite our tragic loss I want to let you know that the Margraves are doing OK. The love and support we have received from our nearest and dearest has been overwhelming, from close family members and friends who've been there with us every step of the way, to mum's girls who provided daily meals on wheels until we got back on our feet - not forgetting the bottles of wine that arrived from America (thanks Catherine Whyte), words can't explain our gratitude. Of course we all have our moments but I am so proud of my fellow Margraves for their unbelievable courage and strength and strangely feel lucky to still have such an amazing family that is closer than ever. I know the Turk would be so proud too!
Ironically the weekend before dad gave me a big bear hug and left NYC to return to the Big Smoke - following a month on the IPAs and a diet of burgers - I decided to throw him a bit of a leaving bash at Central Park's Tavern on the Green. Thanks to mum this wasn't the last party for me in the Big Apple, as in June she offered to take master Stone off my hands for three nights so that I could rejoin Jonny for a few care-free days and nights of NYC fun, and what fun it was. Ticking off a final few bucket list entries, namely a trip up to the newly opened observation deck of One World Trade, dinner at Gramercy Tavern and a marathon walk in Central Park with the pooch, it was seeing my NYC chums that made the trip. There's no denying we made the right decision to come home, after all there is no place like home, but what I wouldn't give for a bottomless brunch with the girls (and bubbas of course), I miss you all, thanks for making our time in NYC unforgettable. Xxx
