“Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than to remember me and cry.”

It takes a lot for me usually to connect with people. Because of past events in my life and relationships I've had with former friends and family I tend to be very wary. Sometimes though there are people that you come in to contact with that you can't help but instantly connect with and Mrs M's great nan was one of them. Mable had one of those smiles that as soon as it was aimed your way you were hooked. 

Although I had only known her since me and Mrs M had been together I kind of felt like I'd known her for the past twenty odd years due to all the amazing stories Mrs M had told me. We would often lie in bed at night and she would tell me about all the things they used to get up to. My favourite was the story about how a goat ate a huge chunk of her hair (very funny). Mrs M, Auntie Lottie and their mom (Nanny Roo) had a love and admiration for her that you don't see much these days. It was always obvious what a huge impact she had had on their lives, it made me wish I had someone from my family that I cared that much about.

Mable absolutely adored the boys and they would always get really excited when we were going to visit. She would happily sit and talk to Seth for the entire time we were there and sometimes it was  like they were the only two people in the room, she loved them dearly. Sometimes when we would be driving home Seth would be in tears as he wanted to go back, I loved that he had this connection. She had a lovely garden and the boys loved looking after it for her, cutting the grass and watering the plants, she loved her flowers, especially forget-me-nots.

In great grandparent style her house was full of NicNaks, treasures from past adventures and a lifetime of memories. Opeie loved playing with her dolls, especially the doll she had handmade herself for nanny Roo when she was a little girl. Her NicNaks weren't all vintage though, there was always some Lego for the boys to play with, she was cool Nanny Robson.

Sadly this morning Nanny Robson passed away. It's been a quiet day at home and as expected Mrs M has been quite down. It's clear to see that in the 92 years Mable was here she touched a lot of people and was a very wise woman, earlier today Mrs M wrote about her great nan and included some of her wise words which I thought I would include:

- Treat every living thing with respect, everything has a right to live, even flowers in the garden... if we pay a little more attention to the world, we will all be happier.  

- Make yourself happy, don't concentrate on what others have, or what you don't have, be content that you have what you need.

- Look after your body, eat vegetables and fruit everyday. You only get one body, and its the only one you'll ever have, so enjoy it and take care of it.

- Always try and help people. Even if they are not your favorite people, help because it's the right thing to do, you never know when you might need help.

- Look after what you have, nothing is actually disposable.

- Forgive people.

- Put your children first, be selfless, if you do this, you can't go wrong. 

She certainly had the right take on life and she was clearly an amazing woman, it's a shame that more people don't see the world in the same way, it might be a better place.