Super Saturday

The packing has gotten in the way of the blogging -- and these photos are long overdue. We had one of our best days in England on Saturday when we went to visit Graeme and Mary at their house in Cambridge.

For the kids, we couldn't have been anyhere better. Graeme and Mary have more than a half dozen grandchildren between the ages of almost two and about 14, so they had toys galore for Jack, Kate and Liv to play with. They played inside, they played outside, they ran and ran in their huge garden... and then... two of Graeme and Mary's grandchildren came to play (ages almost two and 3.5). The addition of kids made an exceptional visit even better... and reminded us how we all have been a bit lonely here without friends, classmates, or family. These weekend visits (like the ones to Ravi and Kavi's in London as well as the visit with Graeme and Mary) have been so welcome by all of us.

For the adults, well, the food, conversations, laughter, stories, and catching up made for a great day. As was the case on Wednesday night, John and I both feel so comfortable with Graeme and Mary, despite the passage of so many years. I had the same thought as I did when we met up with my French host family again earlier in this trip -- that we were incredibly lucky to have had these people in our lives. What if it had been another person who had been John's liaison with the local Rotary club? What if they hadn't made us feel so welcome in those first days so long ago, or continued to send Christmas cards even as we have had to skip a year here and there? I tried to explain this sentiment to Graeme on Saturday, mentioned that I felt we were so lucky. He said people make their own luck. While I see what he means, I also know we were so very fortunate the day the two of them (and their family) came into our lives.

We also fell into easy conversation with Graeme and Mary's son, Robert (the bringer of the playmates for our kids), whom we first met during our year in Cambridge (and with whom we shared a memorable day at Wimbledon on the rare "People's Sunday" in 1997). I got a kick out of watching John, Robert and Jack play football (American style) together, and all of us got a kick out of watching all five kids play together. (And we returned home that night to watch the U.S.-England football (soccer) game with our windows closed... and cheered mightily, hoping no one was listening, when the U.S. managed to finish with a tie.)

But back to Saturday with our friends. The other visitor that morning was Roger, whom we got to know well through Rotary and many teas and meals at Graeme and Mary's.  He is now in his 90s, and as active in Rotary (and romance, it seems), as ever (he broke out in love songs in French, Italian and English at different points of the morning visit). His warmth and quick wit are as evident as ever, and it was such a pleasure to see him.

We really are hoping to get back to both England and France soon. While it is reassuring to know that decades can pass and the friendship with so many is as strong as ever, that doesn't stop the desire to simply see and be with these good friends as often as possible -- and certainly more regularly than once every decade or so!

Here are a few photos of the day. In the photo with several little kids with their heads on the ground, the kids are playing a "hide the bunny" game. I also took a picture of the cheese plate, which would have been right at home on any French table. And throughout the visit, I was in awe of their garden, which is lush and full of secret nooks and hidden trails. The last photo below shows their "rose" garden... with the addition of flowers that just blew in as seeds and worked their way into the landscape. Only in England...

At the end of the visit, Graeme took us by Wolfson College, where John and I lived in 1996-97. It had changed a bit -- a few new buildings, gardens even more lush than we remembered -- but also had a bit of a feeling of home (which I guess it was for us that year).

Kate and Liv fell asleep as we pulled away from Wolfson, and we had to carry them on the crowded train home (and Jack managed to get this excellent shot waiting for our train). Clearly, a good time was had by all.