Meet Mike and Sue.
Mike and Sue are very close friends of my brother Darryl and I have hijacked them from him. I kid, I kid!! (Sorta). As Sue assures me, she has lots of love to go around.
I met these wonderful people last October during our annual 'Barth Sibling Weekend'. They were very gracious and didn't stay long, not wanting to interrupt the sib bonding, but they really wanted to pop by to meet Darryl's clan and I'm so glad that they did. Sue and I clicked immediately. You know when you meet a person and you think "Oh, yeah. THIS person I could really like..."? Exactly.
After meeting them in Calgary, Sue and I kept in touch periodically via email or now and then by phone but not often. A couple of weeks ago she called to touch base to see how I was doing (she'd heard through brother Dare about recent changes in my world) and then she called a few days later to say that they would be in BC and asked if it would it be ok if they came through Nakusp to stay the night? Hell, yes!
They arrived with amazing cheese and brilliant wine and a gift for me -- one of Mike's paintings that Sue had framed; a prairie landscape, my favourite. Anyone who knows me well knows that I collect prairie art. (See it above? Do you see that incredible sun?? I just love it.) Such an unexpected and much, much appreciated gift.
Within minutes of their arrival, Mike had a beer in hand and his watercolours unpacked and was out on the deck painting a landscape. It felt so comfortable and so.... right. They took me out for dinner (thanks again for the great meal, my friends) then we came home and ate the cheese and wine they brought. Let me stop here. This wasn't mozarella and Lonesome Charlie, ok? Seriously. Sue hates cheese but my God she knows how to pair it with wine. The purpose of their BC excursion was to purchase wine from a winery in Kermeos that they enjoy and it was a little sliver of heaven, let me tell you.
Connor sat up with us and we talked and listened to music into the wee hours. They introduced us to a great cd... the name of the artist escapes me at the moment, but man was it good. Very angsty and raw. Mike and Connor talked about guitars and it was so great to watch my boy connect with this incredible couple.
It's been a summer of fun and surprises. Challenges and painful growth for me and for my children. Having people like this in our life makes that road so much easier to travel. See you in December, my friends...
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