Mortality

It had to happen some day but I was not really prepared for it to be so soon. Last week I attended a funeral for a girlfriend who was the same age as me - 56. This was the first funeral of my generation of friends that I had attended and the thing that makes me so sad is that it could possibly have been prevented. Breast cancer, which affects so many people had crept up and claimed her all because, like many others, she put off going to the doctor when she found the initial lump. Why do they do that with all the publicity these days? I know Dawn was not the sort who liked going to the doctor unless there was no other solution but I suspect it was probably sheer fear, fear of what the doctor will say, fear of what treatment will be required and fear of your own mortality.

My dear friend Dawn and I met in 1976 when we were in our early 20s and living in share accommodation in Paddington. She was going with Gary, they lived in number 51 and I was going with Tony, we lived in number 47 Elizabeth Street. We became firm friends and had great times going to the pub on the corner or to Angelos Pizza parlor, the Paddo markets. Then there were regular Sunday lunches at no. 47 where we had up to a dozen friends turn up for a feed. A whole lot of good, fun times.

Dawn and I both married these blokes of ours between 1978 and 1979 and Dawn went on to have 2 beautiful daughters, Kylie (now 29) and Amanda (now 28). The four of us kept in touch over the years spending many Christmas's and long weekends at Gary and Dawn's house they built on the lake at the central coast until sometime in the early 1990s, we all separated and subsequently divorced. Such is life, you grow, you move on and life changes for everyone.

I had lost touch with Dawn over the past 10 years and had made a new life for myself meeting and marrying Matthew who turned out to be my true love. Having gotten into the internet a few years ago, I found Kylie and Amanda on facebook a year ago and it was then I learned of Dawn's cancer. She was not a computer person so I immediately phoned my old friend and began catching up on our last 10 years. Little did I realise during that first long conversation that 12 months later I would be attending her funeral. I phoned every few months and we had a lovely chat. I never got the impression from her that she was suffering though she had had both breasts removed and was undergoing chemo for bone cancer. She was always a positive and upbeat person yet quiet and dignified. Not one to complain about her lot in life. Dawn was a great sketch artist working mainly in charcoal and pencil and I admired her for her talent.

So, after many years, last week I caught up with Gary again, Kylie and Amanda, Kerry (Dawn's sister), Diane (Dawn's mother) and a few other folk from way back when. What a crying shame that it had to be at Dawn's funeral. It was a lovely service, some of Dawn's artwork was on display along with a digital display of photos of my friend from when the girls were little. I am not ashamed to say that I cried a lot for her. Still I can look back and say what a wonderful person she was, what a truly remarkable artist she was and what a wonderful mother to those two delightful daughters. I will miss her.

Finally, rest in peace Dawn and know that you were loved by many. Also, ladies, check those boobies regularly and if you do find something suspicious, get yourself to the doctor immediately. I don't want to attend any more funerals for friends my own age until we are all 80 something.