And more Lucias

Continuing my impromptu introduction to my family, here’s Mum, sitting in my office with some of my scary plot-planning and a map of Cumbria behind her.


... 

Mum’s frankly incredible. A teacher all her life, she’s never stopped being a font of wisdom and knowledge. Her specialty was making boring lessons fun, and with an adult’s hindsight, I can look back at our childhood and see the effort she put into making sure we had fun, too, even when times were hard.

I’m a reader and a writer because of Mum. One of my clearest childhood memories is our weekly trips to the Library (four books, and only one picture book allowed!) I can still remember how that library smelled, how it was arranged, discovering Bottersnikes and Gumbles (sp?) and always pining for one… more…. Tintin.

When Mum and Dad retired, they moved into a completely new area. Within months, Mum was involved in the garden club, the W.I, the camera club, the local craft group, and the Shropshire quilters. She dabbled with patchwork and quilting, then settled on beading. She’s won prizes, shields, commendations, and one of her pieces was snapped up for an exhibition. And that's just some of the things she's won prizes for.

She does these incredible beaded Christmas baubles, that I crave owning, like I crave eating chocolate. But then I am a Christmas addict.

I'm a Mum addict, too.