Life is a tapestry woven with threads of joy and sorrow, celebration and grief.
Recently, I had the privilege of attending a NAIDOC event at ANZ headquarters in Melbourne, a humbling experience that underscores the importance of cultural understanding and reconciliation.
We are truly fortunate to receive annual invitations from corporate Australia to take part in such important events.
Following the event, I felt the familiar pull to recharge, a feeling always intensified by the proximity to my late son’s birthday and the anniversary of his passing. It’s a time of year that demands a deep wellspring of inner strength, and for me, that strength comes from family.
This year, finding solace meant traveling to Shrewsbury, England, a town etched in my heart as a place where my son, Matthew, experienced profound happiness.
Revisiting Shrewsbury allows me to maintain a tangible connection to those cherished memories. The beauty of this town, with its unchanging landscape, offers a poignant reminder of simpler times.
I wandered again through the crooked medieval alleyways, marvelling at the Tudor architecture and the hundreds of listed buildings. I pictured Matthew by the Severn River on those warm summer evenings, enjoying dinners and soaking in the atmosphere. Returning was bittersweet – painful, yet ultimately therapeutic.
In the years since Matthew’s passing, family has been my unwavering foundation, a steadfast presence amidst life’s most tumultuous storms. They have helped me find purpose and meaning again, and to honour my son in the best way possible.
I am deeply grateful to belong to loving families, overflowing with aunts, uncles, sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Family is more than just blood. It embodies the rituals that preserve and pass down our cultural values, traditions, and knowledge through generations.
It’s the shared laughter, the knowing glances, the unspoken understanding that binds us together. Family makes holidays and celebrations memorable, allowing us to share cherished traditions while creating new ones that become woven into the fabric of our history.
This year, members of my family and I have decided to embark on creating new rituals when it comes to bereavement and grief. We are exploring new places to visit, new ways to take the ones we have lost along on the continuing journey of living. They may not be physically with us, but their spirit lives on, a guiding light illuminating our path forward.
And in that spirit, we continue to celebrate love, one family moment at a time.
