And a late posting of the Christmas 2024 letter as realized had not done so.

Perhaps more than other years, in 2024 we did a lot of reflecting on and reliving experiences along with healthy doses of looking forward.

As we write this, it is almost a year since Paul began the 28 weekdays of radiation in Kelowna. We were grateful to friends who allowed us to stay at their places in Kelowna and those who kept us distracted by meeting for coffee/dinner and skate-skiing. A year on, and with other therapy completed, Paul is looking forward to his hemoglobin and gut flora rebounding and fewer interruptions to his ski schedule. 

Having the Northcote Mackeys come visit last Christmas was a most welcome gift. We packed in singing, skiing, going to the lights at the wildlife park, and playing games. 

Our niece Zia stayed with us for a couple of months while she did a speech therapy practicum and we appreciated having someone of a different generation in the house again. She joined us for many activities, including skiing at Stake Lake and Sun Peaks.

A trip to San Fran and San Diego on the train (!) in April was a return to cities we had been to years before but this time in the company of our friends Becky and Leo, who brought their own memories of certain places as well as their creative background perspectives. We also had the opportunity to meet up with Wendee and Joyce, the journalist and her daughter we had met in Uganda in 2016. They continue to work in collaboration with the Batwa people to advance their health and children’s education ( https://www.redemptionsongfoundation.org/ ).   

Hearing Billy Joel in concert again recalled previous concerts we had been to but incorporated his first new song in over 20 years!

In May, Paul and Thea had the opportunity to fulfil Thea’s childhood dream of seeing Machu Picchu, kindled in childhood by her reading (and rereading) a Thea Stilton book “Thea and the Lost City”. Their   trip really involved looking back at the Inca past as well as the future of Peru and Bolivia in the respective cities of Lima and La Paz.

Our family expanded on July 7 when Liam and Rachel welcomed Joseph Nathaniel. Joey arrived somewhat early but quickly got into the groove of life on the outside. His resemblance to Liam, coupled with Paul’s recent efforts to transfer videos of our kids to the computer, brought back the early days of child-rearing. Now we are also looking forward to the joys of grand-parenting.  

Rachelle had the opportunity to enrol in a Climate Action course at Douglas College, which entailed travelling to Mexico to learn about   traditional indigenous farming practices and current methods of harvesting coffee and cinnamon. 

In August we travelled to the UK and hiked about 1/3 of the Offa’s Dyke path over 9 days.  Before and during the hike, we reconnected with many friends. We appreciated having company on the trail and  Lori got to spend time with previous colleagues from ADIS and meet new work contacts at Rx Communications. We also visited Rob & Judy who were significant mentors to Paul early in his training. 

We made a brief visit  to the  Republic and Northern Ireland, taking in a Saw Doctors concert (who we last saw perform circa 1994), and greatly appreciated our generous hosts Declan and Deirdre.

In October, Jeryn was able to accompany us on a short trip back to Australia. We mused that she had not travelled on her own with us since before Liam was born. The weather was great for hiking in Tasmania with Michelle C. Bronwyn and Peter hosted a wonderful Mackey family get-together to  celebrate Paul’s aunt Noelle’s 88^th  birthday. Other highlights included paddle-boarding on the Yarra River (thanks Leesa and Ian); gin tasting at the fringe festival; checking out rural painted grain silos with Paul’s Dad, John, and Sandra; doing the ropes course with Anne; touring three botanic gardens; and seeing friends in Echuca and Melbourne. 

Lori continues to be involved in the four pharmacies she is a shareholder in, although learning the names of the new biological medications is getting increasingly more difficult the older she gets (iforgetamab, unprouncimib). Staffing continues to be a challenge; however, the staff we do have are professional and caring. 

The Fort St John Pharmacy won a community business award (https://energeticcity.ca/2024/09/10/celebrating-excellence-fort-st-johns-community-awards-2024-highlights/) , which was gratifying and especially poignant as our president Mike experienced a stroke last year and has not been able to work since. The Similkameen Pharmacy also won a Best of the South Okanagan award.

Paul’s locum anesthesia work has been focused on Williams Lake, Quesnel, and Fort St John for the most part. He is also contributing to various committees and groups and seems to be spending as many hours attending meetings as he is working.

This December marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of Paul’s Mum, followed in January by the same anniversary for Lori’s Mom. Hence, we have been reminiscing and considering their legacies and how they would have loved to have been great-grandmothers (and we note how we are resembling our mothers more).   

Wishing all our friends and family a happy Christmas and lots to look forward to in 2025!

Lori and Paul