We were up bright and early the next morning. Mom had planned a full day in Portland and we were to reach Seattle by dark. We said our good-byes to Loree and MaryAnn and continued north to Charbonneau, a small residential town just south of Portland. Our friends, Bob and Jackie Johnson, had moved to Charbonneau from Medford two years ago to be closer to their grandchildren. Bob and Jackie were very supportive of the arts in the Rogue Valley and we met them through the opera guild. We had a wonderful but short visit; just enough time for hugs, watermelon juice and the reassurance that our friends are thriving in their new community. (Jackie, bless her heart, was the accomplice in the step stool scenario.)
Our next stop was outside of Portland, in a local eatery in Tualatin called Hayden’s. Mom had arranged a spur of the moment high school reunion. Mom attended Holy Child Academy, an all girls Catholic school in Portland with a graduating class of 28 women. Since graduation several of her classmates have moved out of the area or passed away. On this overcast Friday, six fine ladies of the class of ’48 gathered to laugh about old times, share pictures and renew their life-long connection.
(Pictured above- Back Row:, Dorothy Bush-Orth, Shirley Wizer, Ann Marie Zenner-HarringtonFront Row: Katie Joseph, Patty O’Donold and Mom)Mom also invited my cousin Romie to join us for lunch. Romie is my father’s sister’s daughter. While Mom visited with her high school chums, Andrew and I shared our time catching up with Romie. It was great to see her. Contacts with my father’s side of the family are few and distant…and as Dad always made a point of making time for family visits, there was a deep sense of honoring my father while visiting with Romie.
No comments:
Post a Comment