Audrey Garland

Beloved Mum of Lolita, Tania, Jarrod, Tamara, Metesha and Juan. Sister of Gloria (deceased), Venus, Julie, Anita, Kirk, Wendy, Vienna and Craig. So, I sat for a long while and changed my message many times because I found it hard to find a starting point .....How can I describe my Mum, she was a woman of many layers is one way of putting it and by that I mean she was a person that had many different traits but the one thing you would always know, is that she would always have that mouth goin' to town, there was no filter and there were many people on the end of her deadly tongue lashings, even though she was an ole' drama queen, people were still drawn to her, she had friendships with her brothers and sisters, she had friendships with her nieces and nephews, she had friendships with her children, grandchildren and close friends. My Mum was a character and there were very few times a day would go by without her makin' ya shame, there were many moments that would make you want to run away from her. Even though this is what we talk about most when we are reminiscing about her, many people may not have seen the kindhearted woman she was and how she would often go without to help somebody, which used to make some of us kids cranky, not because she helped somebody but because she would go without and that would make some of us kids feel slack way for her, so it was our duty to always make sure she had what she needed! Mum's life always seemed to be a battle, she was married twice and had 6 children between them, they were volatile marriages, she was never quite the same person after they ended, she suffered sadness, pain and hardship during those marriages, then many years later she met Ray, their relationship was not picture perfect but she seemed to be more comfortable than ever before, then when he passed, her life changed again and she was lost, he was her mate and she missed him. In June this year, my Mum was diagnosed with Lung Cancer, it had already spread to her bones, it was difficult news to digest and this marked the beginning of a 5 month journey together, there was no crying, complaining or moments of despair, she showed her strength as she has done over her lifetime. I remember the day my Mum asked me to take her to the hospital for further tests, I promised her then she would not go through this alone, so, as her illness progressed and she slipped away, this is the memory I take with me....we would walk together, our arms linked everywhere we went and I would stand by her side all the way to the end. So, as I stood by her side for one last time, and i start to make my journey through my life without her, I will always wonder if she is still walking by my side with our arms linked like we always did.....I can only hope that is where she is.