As mentioned in day 7, I had a another sister, who was stillborn. Mum and dad knew the girl they named Mary had died in the womb at around 6 months, and mum had to deliver her at full term. It was a traumatic time that had echoes down the years. That said, once he was retired my dad made an effort to find the grave where she’d been buried as that happened in those days without family involvement. With the help of cemetery staff the communal site was located and after dad died we were able to leave his ashes in the same place with a suitable marker for them both. That more is done to support families who go through still births is helpful now. There wasn’t that kind of help available then.
Beyond in the wider world around that time there were concerns that nuclear war was only hours away. The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 left everyone on edge. It is difficult to imagine what is was like for adults at the time. I think my parents didn’t share their anxieties. I did grow to hear more about the Cold War and finally of course the fall of the Berlin Wall. That echoes now as we watch the events of the war in the Ukraine and wonder how it will play out. Nuclear weapons still exist and mutually assured destruction (the MAD paradox) is a possibility.
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