When my mother was 18 months old, she was hospitalized with Scarlet Fever. Every child left the ward with polio.

The outcome of that was, that she became fierce. There was nothing she couldn't do, except dance, of course.

She was clever, could and should have gone to university, but as the eldest in the family, and with scholarship offers, she went to work nonetheless.

I could never understand that.

She became a seamstress, but also learned any skill that would give her an extra income. She was quite amazing.

For instance, she wanted a new kitchen, so went to night classes and made all the cupboards herself.

She wanted to learn an instrument. Her parents couldn't afford lessons, so she bought herself a mouth organ and taught herself.

All this made her fiercely determined that we, her children, would have what she didn't in terms of opportunity.

I'm not sure any of us turned out to be as amazing as she was, but she certainly turned a deaf ear on anyone who suggested she should send us out to work so she could have a rest.

I could go on Hollie, but you get the picture.

My dad was the poet and philosopher. Her family didn't think he as good enough for her. What they didn't know about him, were all the quiet, beautiful things he did for all of us.

Money was always tight, but after we all married and left home, they did their fair share of traveling.

For their era, and for all the things they achieved, and had they been born in our time, who knows?

Bet you didn't expect a tome of a response!!!

I didn't tell you that each of them left this planet with nine fingers, my mother's trauma Dad never quite got over. That's a whole other story, but probably doesn't fit into Everything Fun.