Your thoughts:

Silvia Schivella, Sydney, Australia: "My Mum would have turned 83 today. I can’t believe that it's been over 9 years since she passed on. The thing is that often, our way of coping with such a loss is to not think about the person too much. Because when we do, the grief that sits in our unconscious is unleashed and it evokes almost the same gamut of emotions that we felt when we lost the person. The occasions that we used to celebrate pose a particular emotional conundrum – do we pay our respects and so venture into the emotional abyss? I believe the answer is a resounding “yes”. We should remember them and we should also embrace the sadness because without it, we trivialise the impact that they had in our lives.

So with all that in mind, I’d like to celebrate my Mum’s (Sonia’s) life today. I also want to recall the pain of the loss I felt and feel to this day of no longer having my Mother in my world. She was an extraordinary woman with an amazing recall of her past experiences. I remember, especially when we had visitors, sitting at her feet and relishing the way that she told stories about past events. She was an exceptional raconteur and because of this, I grew up knowing and loving my relatives in Italy, whom I had never met. She had attitude, intelligence and she spoke four languages: Italian, German, French and English and could curse and swear in several others.as well. Before the internet and online encyclopedias such as Britannica and Wikipedia, she was my resource for so many questions I wanted quick answers for. She had amassed an amazing amount of knowledge and lived with encyclopedias and dictionaries on hand.

With a smile, I recall how she used to banter with my husband about the 'greatest empire' that ever existed. He of course, would say the British Empire and my Mum would snort and say that when the Romans arrived in Britain, the British were still running around in animal skins, were painted blue and had no concept of hygiene. She would laugh and tell him that because of the Romans, the British were introduced into civilisation. My Mum and Mark loved each other and they thoroughly enjoyed these exchanges.

My Mum could curse like a wharfie. Her imaginative descriptions of what you could go do with yourself were breath-taking. I especially recall one time when she lashed out in Italian at my Dad about something and he responded by saying “Oh nice, now the neighbours can hear you”. Taking that as a challenge, she stormed out the front door, stood in the middle of the yard and started shouting, in her very good, posh English accent, “No, now they can f****** hear me!” I remember cringing at the time, but now it makes me laugh so much.

To finish up, I just want to say Happy Birthday Mum. I love you and miss you and with every fibre of my being, I hope that you can still see me."