Conversation with my Mum Hey Mum...how are you? Sorry I’m only calling now I felt a bit dizzy in practice so coach called the ambulance It was a bit scary but a kind lady came with me I can’t remember much but I’m in this place now and it’s really amazing All the TVs are 3D and the graphics are incredible The games are like nothing I’ve seen before I can’t believe the quality of the mentors I’ve learnt so much and I haven’t even been here that long. It’s really great! They give you unlimited credit just like grandma Sha and the cooking is grandma Regi standard. Tell Dad I won’t be borrowing his stuff anymore; my new wardrobe puts Jay-Z to shame. Fashion-wise these guys need some help though...I’ve asked if I can pass on the wing-thing and they’ve kind of agreed They took me to a stadium that makes San Siro seem like a joke. I steered clear of the art gallery for fear of another line experience with Miro. I’m working this evening with others on a new magazine ....so I have to go now Love you Mum Love you too Dit I know you are fine Dit..if you see me cry it’s only because I am so sorry you didn’t get to do all the things you wanted to do.. I wish we had the chance to spend xmas in the Gambia as we had planned and that you got to see your sister because you were missing her I wish you could attend the Drake concert tomorrow Or that you got a chance to launch your school magazine I wish you had a chance to go to university Or that you got a chance to be a Dad something according to you facebook page you thought you would be good at I miss talking to you for hours about everything and anything....world politics, football (which I never understood), religion, science...analysing situations and just a shared understanding without effort I miss your knowledge ..just asking you about anything from the Greek mythology to how volcanoes are formed and then not bothering to retain the facts because I knew I could just ask you again I miss laughing with you about stereotypes and predicting how people will react. Remember how we joked about people’s reactions to you attending a Girls’ Academy! Or how we joked about how people in London might start talking to you s-l-o-w-l-y because you were from Africa or how folks in Sierra Leone might say things in Krio and think you would not understand. I miss finding cheesy rhyming poems with you and Issy, and laughing with you..remember how long we laughed about Anna Banana...whose piano broke..and Anna choked! I miss having someone to pass every crazy idea by, who would see its potential and spur me on. Who else could I take to a Quaker meeting without a raised eyebrow? I will miss our special holidays Dit, where we chose European destinations simply based on what football stadium you could visit and our tradition of getting a new pair of trainers in each city Oh Dit, I miss your hugs so badly and how you used to hi-five me everytime I went past...in the kitchen, corridor, living room everywhere. I miss making a child bed of you and Is ...one child for my headrest and another for my feet Dit ..I will miss you but I have your smile printed in my heart forever. In fact I continue to wonder How could I not have known? That you were really an angel on loan So much love you brought to our home Dit you taught me to love with question These weeks have been tough but so many have helped that I start to believe that although our lives will never be the same again...that we can start to forge a new normal. One in which we honour your memory through our thoughts, our words and our deeds. To honour you I’ll try my best to make everyone I meet feel special and take time to appreciate all the blessings in my life. Today Dit, I promise myself and promise you to get better not bitter I will love you always, in death as in life Mum