19 September 1994. The timeline of my life runs before and after that date. On 19 September 1994 my first husband, David, died by suicide. Here are some random events from the 20 years that followed…
- 1994. The National Lottery begins.
- 1995.Oaklahoma City bombing
- 1996. Dunblane
- 1997. Comet Hale Bopp
- 1998. Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement
- 1999. Scottish Parliament
- 2000. Russian submarine Kursk sinks.
- 2001. 9/11
- 2002. Scotland fails to qualify for World cup.
- 2003. Invasion of Iraq
- 2004. 26 December Tsunami
- 2005 Hurricane Katrina
- 2006. Human Genome project publishes last chromosome sequence
- 2007. iPhone introduced
- 2008. Terrorist attacks in Mumbai
- 2009. Swine flu
- 2010. Haiti earthquake
- 2011. Arab Spring
- 2012. Baumgartner’s space dive
- 2013. Meteor explodes over Chelyabinsk.
- 19 th September 2014 Scotland wakes to a NO result in the independence referendum.
I’ve chosen events that I know David would have talked about and debated (he would certainly have had pithy words about 2002) and events that he has missed. But huge and vital as these world events were they don’t tell of all the other things that he has missed. They don’t tell of the tears shed and the devastating heartbreak his families and friends experienced. They don’t tell of the three nieces that he adored so much and how they have grown to create their own life stories. They don’t tell how less rich the world is for so many because he is not here.
If I could speak to David now I would say that yes, time flies and I have been living my life. I just wish that you had been living yours too…..
words: Rosie Woodhouse
Samaritans: 08457 909090 (UK)
1850 609090 (ROI)
