Life of Lu

Tomorrow is the 11th anniversary of Marguerite's death. 11 years.  Eleven years. It doesn't matter how I write it. It doesn't seem right. I lost my little sister 11 years years ago.  11 years ago my little sister was stolen from this world. It has been 11 years since I got to hear her dirty wee laugh. Eleven years since I heard her utter 'il y a beaucoup de fleurs' Eleven years since she announced that her drink was a vodka and orange and 'go easy on the orange'. How can it be that long? Sometimes it feels as though it were just yesterday.  Sometimes it feels as though it was all a dream. Sometimes it just doesn't let me feel. I guess death is a little funny like that. When I was moving to Aberdeen I found a letter that I wrote to Marguerite as she lay in her casket. I made her promises. I promised her so much. It has been 11 years and pretty much most of those promises have been left unfulfilled. Some of th

Today 11 years ago, was the last time I saw my sister. I normally don't remember this date very much as her anniversary is so soon but for some reason it stuck in my head today. The memory got me thinking about the usual things I think about in November -The brevity of life -The apparent lack of meaning of life -My year gone by -My year to come This year, my feelings on life have been pretty different to the past few years. I swore that I would make 2015 my year. There are many things that I haven't done in 2015 but many things I have. I have most definitely not managed a bikini body BUT I did fix my teeth. I may not have managed a move to Glasgow BUT I did move to Aberdeen I may not have found the man to tame me BUT I have made some amazing friendships. (And if we are honest, it is doubtful I shall ever be tamed) If this year has thought me anything, it has been that you can't predict life. So many things have caught me off guard this y

28 years ago, a little three and a half year old girls dreams came through. She was given a little sister, a human doll for want of a better description. It is very important work you know, being a big sister, and this three year old took her role very seriously indeed. As two sisters go, they couldn't have looked more different. One was a fiery blue-eyed ginger with freckles galore. The other was a sallow, brown eyed brunette. But despite their differences they were sisters. Close sisters. There were similarities... Both could be rather silly at times. They both obsessed over 'The Sound of Music'. They both loved a practical joke and a good giggle. Both loved cats. Over the years, there were dramatics. Like when the younger sister and her friend ate all the elder sisters easter eggs, and blamed the elder sister, despite a chocolate trail of truth. Or that time when the younger sibling disapproved of the elder sibli

I have just returned from one of my best visits to Ireland since I left it four years ago. It was an action packed weekend, and I got to see so many people! It was literally one of those all 'GO GO GO' weekends. I travelled to Glasgow, then flew to Dublin. From Dublin airport I had a horrendously overpriced taxi (34 euro!) to Heuston Station as the airport bus wouldn't get me to by train on time. Literally made the train by the skin of my teeth and nearly 24 hours after I left Aberdeen I arrived in Cork.  At a family wedding in June, my cousins and I decided that we should try and meet up more regularly and that led to the plan of meeting last weekend. In hindsight we forgot to include those who weren't at the wedding but the learnings have been taken for next time! It was so great to see my family. We are such a close bunch despite not seeing each other that much. As a collective, I have never encountered such wit and banter. Literally, the majority of the n