John, Michelle and myself on my 1981 visit. Yikes!
Growing up in an armed forces family and moving from spot to spot every few years means that I really don't have a home base. It also means that my parents, brother and sister also don't have a home base. The result is we have drifted all over the place for a number of years.Both my brother and sister have been living on Vancouver Island since the 70's. I had taken a trip out there to see about living there back in 1981. I love British Colombia, and had lived up in Smithers back in the 70's. My wife was from new York, and she felt that the distance would be too much, as we visited New York and all the relatives at least once a year.
Well, my brother John had a kid, and my sister Michelle had 2, and they've had kids. My niece Joanne got married a few years back, and I tried to get out for the wedding. Could not swing it, and have felt bad since. Am making up for it by coming out to visit everyone for a few weeks.
Luck for me, it's the Easter weekend and my sister is planning both a family dinner and a photograph session. It will be an emotional time for me. I have seen Michelle a lot, as she comes down to PEI to visit Mom almost annually. My brother John, I haven't seen for more than 25 years. We have just started emailing each other after quite a long pause, arguing the finer points of spirituality. He is a new-born and I am probably the polar opposite. The emails have been invigorating and stimulating. The live argument ought to convince people to give us some space.
I now have grand-nieces (Yikes!) to go along with nieces and a nephew. To say that I am looking forward to meeting them would be quite the understatement.
Bruce
