Last week, Terry and I headed "up the valley" - the Ottawa River valley - to visit Terry's childhood friend, John Vaudry, and his wife, Wendy. Like us, they have three grown children.
Terry and John have been friends since kindergarten. They both grew up in Lennoxville, Quebec. John's parents were like second parents to Terry.
We attended John and Wendy's wedding in Lennoxville 39 years ago.
When John became a Presbyterian minister, he moved away. He and Wendy have lived in various parts of Canada.
We don't get together all that often - but over the years we visited them when they lived in Nova Scotia, in Montreal and in Wingham, Ontario.
They have lived in Pembroke, Ontario for six years now, but this was our first visit. I'm not sure what took us so long to visit them. Pembroke is only a two-hour drive away.
Hearing that John plans to retire in spring added an element of urgency to our visit. They don't have plans to move - but, with children living in various parts of Canada, moving may eventually be an attractive option.
We had a great visit, catching up... With some people, time passes, but nothing else seems to change.
They showed us around their lovely old church. In the basement, everything was set up for a women's supper.
We checked out the church office...
... and the sanctuary.
We talked about retirement - and the changes and challenges it brings.
We'd like to go back at least once more to hear John preach before he retires. In their student days, Terry often accompanied John when he drove out to guest-preach in various small churches around Lennoxville.
The day was cool - but we explored a bit...
We even checked out the nearby Petawawa military garrison and its display of old planes.
It was so nice to be in touch again!
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