So, here i am back again, my poor readers are on overwhelm - what?? so many posts in such a short time? But they're long so maybe they make up for the delays between postings? Anyhow, this is no longer being posted from Calgary where the other two updates were written, but from humble, sunny, hometown Hamilton. I've been home for a few nights now and my back and I are missing my aunt's queen sized bed. My bed just ain't cutting it anymore - the mattress is somehow no longer giving me the support i need - so i'm looking forward to purchasing a new bed!
But nough about beds, that's not what you would like to hear about. The rest of our trip - well, Tuesday, hmm... Tuesday we were up on time because Dad and I drove to Chilliwack to visit my mom's aunt and uncle, Case and Tita. I have very fond memories of staying with them when mom and i were out west three years ago and it's nice to see them again as always! They welcomed us with a lekkere kop coffee and a nice sit-down in the sun-soaked backyard, brimming over with plants and flowers - springtime has indeed sprung here - and Ome Case is very proud of his garden with good reason - it's a lovely sheltered nook for plants to grow. We spent a few hours catching up with them and then it was back to Abbotsford to change and head back to Chilliwack. For you see, the odd thing of this trip was this, Dad had expressed that it would be nice to catch up with some cousins on his Mom's side who live in B.C. seeing as it had been probably nearly 45 years since he'd seen some of them, not since he visited them in Dryden on his grandparent's farm. While we were visiting with Grandma that first Friday, the director of Manoah came up to Dad (he knew him from previous visits) and expressed his condolences to Dad on the passing away of Ome Henk. Dad was pretty floored since he didn't know anything about this (the director knew about it since it is a Canadian Reformed home and Ome Henk attended Abbotsford church). We decided that it would be good for us to attend the memorial and so here we were. I will admit to feeling kinda nervous since i didn't/wouldn't know anyone and would they even talk to us or remember Dad? The service was very nice - the singing was good and there was even a fellow who played some old Dutch songs on accordion which got the whole (mostly elderly) audience singing along. After the service, Dad and I, along with Uncle Brent, Aunt Yettie and Grandma met and talked with quite a few of Dad's cousins - and they had lots of memories and stories to share which was super neat. I suppose i knew i had more family here but really didn't realize how much (until they filed into church row upon row!). It was so nice for Dad to see these people and connect a bit... i will admit to feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, but it was good to go to be sure. Just such a coincidence to happen to be there when the memorial was happening. I guess that was meant to be...
Supper that night was fairly low-key and we spent the night watching Wheel of Forture and Jeoprody - i was getting pretty good!
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