Thursday Thoughts - Remembering Geoff

Fixit Guy and I are in Adelaide for a few days. We are staying with a very old friend. Back in 1987 L and her husband G moved to the country town where we were living and G became our new minister. We only had one child then, Fangirl, who was 2 and G and L had only been married a year. L and I became good friends - well all 4 of us became very close. They were amongst our first visitors to the hospital when our second child was born later that year and the following year I was able to support L when she became a new mum. We would have dinner parties together, they came to our kids birthday parties, we shared Christmas Day together, we planned church services together and supported each other as two little families a long way from the rest of our extended family. We became family.

In mid 1989 we moved towns and then a year after that G and L moved to South Australia to take up ministry there. We would write and email, send gifts when new children were born although over time it dwindled down to just our yearly Christmas letters. We did catch up in person a few times when they came back to Queensland to visit G's family in Brisbane and once when FG and I flew to Perth and back and had a 12 hour layover in Adelaide. Reconnecting was easy - our friendship was such that time would fall away and we would chat madly for whatever time we could have together. It would be as though we had never been apart.

Sadly, 6 years ago, G collapsed and died very suddenly aged 49. What an awful thing. I wasn't able to get to Adelaide for his memorial service or even to Brisbane for the second one they had there a little later. I did write a piece that was read out at the Queensland service.

I made L a promise at the time that I would come for a visit and finally a year later I made it. I flew in and had a week with her and her 3 teenaged children. We talked non stop, shared, cried and talked some more. It was a good week for both of us (well it was for me and I hope it was for her) although I think she ended up a bit sleep deprived as we would talk till midnight and then she would have to get up and go to work the next day... I could sleep in a bit.

This is the first time I have been back since that visit- although I do catch up on Facebook with her and it is the first time that FG has been to visit her since G's death. This visit there has been lots and lots of talking and sharing and lots of remembering G. Today she took us out to the church he was serving in when he died and we saw the seat that they have erected as a memorial in the garden there as a remembrance of him... such a special lovely man.

FG lived up to his nickname whilst we have been here spending several hours getting L's watering system going again. He enjoys fiddling about with things and solving problems. He also show his love for people in doing things for them

It has been good to spend time with our dear friend and to have the chance to reminisce about a friend who has gone before us.

L and I, Granite Island, Victor Harbour