Meeting Gina Again

When my children were young, I volunteered in their schoolrooms on my days off from nursing in the operating room. This type of volunteering involved doing whatever jobs teachers needed done; helping a student learning to read, collecting and passing out paper, mimeographing hundreds of copies of handouts and tests, even cleaning blackboards.

But, when my boys got to a fifth and sixth grade combined classroom, I was asked to run a drug abuse class with Gina. I organized a visit to the hospital drug dispensary where the children were shown a small bottle of cocaine used in the hospital for nasal surgery and told that small amount would cost $1100 on the street, but only cost the hospital $50 for the whole bottle.. A narcotics detective talked about his work and an eighteen year old boy described his life as an alcoholic. The students asked so many questions, especially to that young man, so close to their own age. We geared the class to the fact that these boys and girls would do what they wanted with their lives but, we wanted them to know ahead of time, what they were taking and what the effects could be.

I knew the effectiveness of the class from the fact that my own boys never tried drugs and didn't even drink alcohol until they were much older. But, I think Gina really believed it the day that Peter, one of our students came back to visit us after a few month in junior high. He said another student offered him a handful of pills of all colours and sizes. Peter asked what they were and what they did. The boy replied, "Just take any one and see. You will like it." Peter told the boy that he would never take anything if he didn't know what it was. Peter felt he just had to come back and tell us about that encounter.

Gina and her husband raised horses and both my boys and I spent a lot of time at their ranch. For three summers, I went away to camp with the class for a week as the camp nurse. I also taught two classes there such as photography and tree identification. That third year was hard. I went to camp as planned even though my doctors were ready to schedule me for a spinal fusion because of my severe back and leg pain. The children and Gina made it definitely worth the effort to go to the camp!

After my surgery, once I could walk and drive my car again, I was invited to spend time out at their ranch. I sat whole afternoons in a pen taming a filly who had just been taken away from her mother. Feeling useful certainly helped my recovery.

Two years later my boys and I moved 300 miles away. I loved going back to visit and eventually bought that same horse. After another 9 years and another back surgery, I sold my horse and moved back to Canada, near my sister. My boys were both away in college by then. Now it was too far to visit especially since Gina and her husband soon moved to Utah. We still kept in touch, especially at Christmas. I always longed to see her again.

Over many, many years, I remarried, her husband died and eventually she remarried. My husband ended up with dementia and had to be moved to a home. Then Gina and her new husband moved to the Oregon Coast. I was elated! That was close enough to visit!

Three ferries from my home on a small island off Vancouver Island to the mainland, then a few hours to my cousin’s house in Bellingham was the first day. It was wonderful to reconnect with a cousin I had only spent time with at large family gatherings. I really enjoyed getting to know her husband and, with him, cooking a dinner for their large family of children and grandchildren.

After several days exploring Bellingham, I left early, fighting traffic I was not used to all the way through Seattle, Olympia and Portland. Finally, I was beyond Portland, headed to the Oregon coast, an area I had always loved to drive through. Breaking out through the forest to the ocean was heavenly. The briny smell, the surging of the surf brought back memories of all the trips I had taken back and forth from California to Canada.

Gina met me at the gate to their housing community. It was amazing; as she walked up, she looked the same; still blond and still very trim and fit. I did not look the same, having gained a lot of weight from years of forced inactivity and another spinal surgery and my hair had turned almost completely grey. But, after over 40 years of not seeing each other, it was like no time had passed. I so enjoyed meeting her husband and it was obvious that she was happy in her new marriage.

They showed me around the area to places I had never seen on my trips, especially to the shop of an incredibly talented chainsaw woodcarver. Gina and her husband had many of his works in their home. Meeting him, talking to him about his carving was so inspiring. He showed me new pieces of driftwood he had acquired and described what he saw in them and how he planned to carve them. I had done some woodcarving myself, although only small pieces such as duck decoys and had only used a chainsaw to take down and cut up trees for firewood. I really loved his descriptions of what he planned to do. Although unable to afford his large works, I did buy a few smaller carvings in the shop which was run by his wife and also acquired his inspiring book on his recovery from alcohol and drugs through his wood carving.

Back at Gina and Fred’s home, I re-admired and took photos of all the pieces they had. Perhaps this would spur me to get back into carving which I had really loved. Evenings, we sat watching the sunsets over the ocean from their living room windows. I had brought ingredients with me and cooked my favourite, Pad Thai for them as I had done in Bellingham.

After 3 days, it was so difficult to leave and head back to Bellingham. After a night at my cousin’s, I went to visit my 99 year old aunt in a nursing home in Vancouver. I am so glad I did, as that was the last time I saw her. We had been very close while I was in nursing school in Vancouver.

Five hours later, I was back in my own wonderful home and garden. What a trip that was! Gina and I now email all the time to keep up with each other’s lives.

Nothing is more wonderful than to reconnect with a dear friend after 40 years apart!