Eulogy

Good afternoon, everyone. First of all, I want to thank you all for being here today—although, knowing my mum, all the fuss and attention would make her so uncomfortable! My mum had all the classic ingredients of a good old fashioned parent, strong willed, stubborn and according to my dad quite a good left hook. But underneath that presbyterian attitude to life, there was a wonderful human being. As most of you know, when I was around 14 I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Due to a load of complications, I was a guest at most of the hospitals in north lanarkshire and glasgow. Without fail she was always the first person at my bedside with a shopping bag full of chocolate and juice. She couldn’t make things better medically. She was just being Mum which is what she did best. She was never one for big emotional displays, but if you paid attention, she gave more than you ever asked for. She showed love in actions, not words. When I was young and stupid I was at mates house, true to form there was alcohol and unreasonably loud music, next thing I know my mum bursts in the room, we all thought we were being hunted down for under age drinking, turns out she was just handing me my medication that I had typically forgot about. She was fiercely protective to the point where she was prepared to barge into someone's house. I got a call from her randomly at 3am whilst asleep, turns out she learned of the terrible tragedy at the clutha bar and just wanted to make sure I was home safe. When I told her I wanted to restart my life by going into higher education, she pulled out all the stops to make sure I had the best chance at success. She believed in responsibility. In getting on with things. In putting others first—even if it meant carrying the weight herself, but she was always at her happiest with all her boys with her. I looked at a lot of works to see what might fit for today, but I kept coming back to Dante’s La Vita Nuova—because it captures, better than I ever could, the way she shaped who I am: > “In that book which is my memory, on the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you, appear the words: Here begins a new life.” Today, I say goodbye to my mum forever. And strangely, it feels like a part of me has died with her. So I hope you’ll all join my family in spending a lifetime remembering her. Thank you.