As you all know Joan was a wonderful teacher by profession. Being a teacher she regularly had the summers off.I would often see her lounging around drinking a cocktail from time to time while I had to go and earn a living.

She would often smile while off to work I went and how lucky she was. My way of dealing with this was at the end of the summer and the night before I would call and remind Joan that it’s time to go back to work. This became a tradition, and she would always expect the call.  She would give a big sigh at going back to work and laugh at the reminder. 

I only wish I could call and remind her her again and hear her laughing

Dennis and Frances

Grandma and Grandpa always show up. No obstacle insurmountable, no distance too great, no time too inconvenient.

And its a good thing too because their grandkids could be anywhere doing anything. Recently the drive to Cornwall (5 hrs) was almost the shortest distance for Grandma hugs; the closest being 17 minutes to the Guelph residence of three ridicuously cute grandkiddies, the furthest being Oslo the home of the newest addition, and somewhere in the middle (time-wise) is Clagary, an established stronghold of G and G visits.

To go see the Cornwall clan, however, is usually a three or four day adventure in always uncertain drving conditions on the notorious 401 eastbound. Grandpa loves the traffic, Grandma not so much. But she braved it nonetheless, regularly heading our way. Nothing was going to stand between her and grandchildren.

G and G have literally driven across the country for child and grandchild. Starting with a north of Superior run in 2004 to Thunder Bay, they've racked up road trips to Pickle Lake, Sioux Lookut and all the way to Calgary for visits. They've seen swim meets as far away as Ottawa, Cornwall and Belleville. Not to mention Brantford, London and everywhere in Toronto. Picking up munchkins in Port Hope for a late summer cottage visit was not out of the question either, but may also have tested their endurance as the round trip is close to 8 hours! But it matters not, they were always there.

Grandma even ventured out on trains (with Aunt Ruth too! and some very inconvenient buses) and planes (a Wasaya Beech 1900D doing the milkrun all over Northwestern Ontario - visiting two fly in reserves and Pickle Lake, again - was a 3 hour trip for Grandma which never even made it to Sioux Lookout because of a thunderstorm - she came up the next day direct on a Bearskin Metroliner). Planes, trains and automobiles, indeed.

Needless to say, these two granparents are the gladiators of getting there, the sultans of showing up, the victors of visitation.

Though occasionally it was the otherway around and the kids came to them, like in the picture above, there was no greater pleasure than seeing their car pull in the driveway with an armload of hugs for the kids...and me.

For many years we had marvelous New Year's celebrations with the gang in the photo.  We would rotate who hosted, everyone brought food and drink and certainly the ladies loved to dress up. The gang was:  Joan & Doug/ David & Maria Phipps/ John & Camille Arnold/ Donna & Chuck Bartliff/ Shirley & Rance Oosterveld/ Barb & Ian Galloway/ my Mom Inge Rakovszky.