Welcome to all readers of this very interesting Regional Optimist. This being my first column, I'll give a little background information. My husband and I have three grown children and nine beautiful grandchildren. We were residents of Sonningdale for seven years in the early days of our pastoral ministry. We fell in love with the people here, for their caring and loving hearts.
Twenty-five years ago we were called to serve in another community and it was with sad hearts we said goodbye. However, we vowed that if God permitted us, we would one day return, maybe to retire.
Well, what do you know? At the end of spring last year my husband announced our retirement to our congregation, without any idea of what we were going to do. A few weeks later we were in Saskatoon where we unexpectedly ran into some friends from Sonningdale.
"Our church is looking for a retired pastor," they exclaimed. Martyn, my husband and I looked at each other, smiling from ear to ear. "Really," we answered and explained we were now retired.
Well, lo and behold, here we are, back where we belong.
Our work here began in September and we are loving it. The only thing we sure weren't happy about was the snakes residing in our yard. They certainly were not there before and they are definitely not welcome now.
"Oh come on now," I can hear you saying, "after all, they are only garter snakes."
I do realize this, but the only snakes I can handle are those on the snakes and ladders game.
I always said we would probably be buried in Sonningdale. It just might turn out to be a true prediction.
I quit baking pies a few years ago, but now I am back to baking often, due to Seniors' Pie Day on Wednesdays. Come and join us sometime from 2 to 4 p.m. It would be great to meet you.
Are you ready for the invading army of Red Hatters storming your town in April? You'd better batten down the hatches. I think you'll enjoy the fun, though. I used to belong to the group where we lived. We had some good times. So, ladies 50 and over, if you need to have some fun, maybe you could sign up and be one of them.
During my many years, I have been through many interesting experiences, some good and some not so good. That's life, isn't it? I would like to share some of these with you from time to time, so they may be an encouragement to some of you. We are all human and I'm sure you will identify with most, if not all my experiences. If just one person is helped, it will be worth it.
Depression, loneliness and marriage difficulties are just a few of the subjects I would like to touch on. In fact, any subject that may be of interest to others is column fodder. Please feel free to call me and express any ideas of topics you may have. I'll do my best to tackle them. You will soon find that I am not an expert and certainly don't claim to "know it all."
Life As I See It is about life experiences and I've found, as I'm sure you have, that this is the best teacher of all. Take care.
