The Farewell to Sylv

After Myles left for Goolwa I was left to look after the animals and farm. I wanted to finished the spare bedroom so when Myles returned he had something to smile about after his Mother passed away. For two days I painted, taped, wobbled on a ladder and obviously fell on my tail bone. I'm not sure when I hurt myself but for two weeks I have been unable to sit properly and am living on painkillers.

On Sunday the neighbour drove me down to the airport so that I could join the Cobbing family. He was going to look after the dogs on Sunday, then my parents were coming to stay on the Monday and look after everything. The plane trips were painful and I was glad to see Myles waiting for me at the airport in Adelaide. He had swapped his original hire car for a larger Holden. Unfortunately the seats were terrible and I was in pain for the hour trip down to Goolwa. Upon arriving I was able to give the whole Cobbing clan a big hug and then Shaun, Myles' brother, massaged and cracked my back - which helped. Then I was given beautiful painkillers which really helped.

Shaun had brought his kids along - I hadn't seen Shara, Luke, and Tayla for years. Had they grown? Yes, were they smart asses? Yes. Did I enjoy their company? Yes. The Cobbing boys were naturally upset and I felt it was my job to look after them. Shaun seemed very stressed - He had planned much of Sylv's funeral wanted everything to go to plan - to celebrate a very special lady and his mother. I kept busy over the next few days and was invited to view Sylv. The family were unsure whether they should and I commented that if they didn't now they might look back and wonder if they should of. We drove out to Victor Harbour and while traveling I read that it can be very important to have a viewing. I of course shared that with the car. Upon arriving at the Funeral Directors we all suddenly became upset. Myles and Shaun stayed outside to gather themselves while I went in with the kids and Myles' Dad, Mick. It was a very emotional experience which completely exhausted everyone - I didn't feel it was appropriate to show a lot of emotion because I wanted to seem strong - to help everyone.

Sylv learns to box on the Wii while we all wet ourselves laughing (2008)

Shaun's friends Warren and Lisa arrived early the next morning and helped iron everyone's clothes and generally help out. I cleaned the kitchen and made sure Myles and family were prepared. A couple of painkillers later and we were all ready for Slyv's day. The chapel in Goolwa also serves as a community centre - where Sylv played table tennis - so a very appropriate place to host the event. The family was expecting about 80 people but were overwhelmed by the 140 people. Our best friend Les travelled all the way down rom Sydney and just the sight of him started the waterworks with Myles and brought a tear to my eye. A few minutes later the ceremony started. The Celebrant was fantastic - respectful and humorous. There was a problem with the music starting early and he covered for it "Now, now Sylv, we know you like to party but can you please wait" There were a few chuckles from the crowd. Shaun was amazing - talking about Sylv's life - he only starting loosing it towards the end. While Myles was brief his speech brought most to tears. Mick told a few stories that were humorous - thank goodness I don't think the crowd would have kept it together if there weren't a few laughs. Then the DVD that Myles and Shaun put together was played. I couldn't watch most of it and nearly lost it when I heard John Lennon's 'Imagine'. Sylv had asked me to read the 23 Psalm at the end and I was determined not to cry while doing that. Myles told me latter that I was a little quick but still good. We retired to the local pub afterwards and celebrated Sylv's life over a few drinks. Everyone arrived home safely and we watched the DVD a couple more times until we all had tears in our eyes.

The Cobbing family on the mend

The next day we went to Sylv's favourite restaurant and had lunch. Shaun paid for everyone to visit the restaurant's attached wildlife park - which we thought was crazy until we finished walking around. We all agreed it was good to have that little walk. I took photos along the way - it wasn't until the end that I looked at the family and thought 'they are going to be OK'.

Myles and I left the next morning waving to everyone and promising to talk to them that night. Once out of sight I finally let my emotions out.

Goodbye Sylv. We had some fun didn't we?