Grand Re-union...

About two months ago, after a chance conversation with an ex work colleague Carolyn, I came up with the idea of hosting a reunion lunch for retired and ex-work colleagues, some of whom hadn't seen each other for many, many years.  Of course when the date was chosen to host a lunch for 20 odd people, I didn't think it would be a day and a half after welcoming and 8 week golden retriever puppy into our lives!

But the day couldn't have gone any better.  

Caterer arrived with the buffet lunch half an hour before everyone arrived, Lola had a mad half hour in the garden and took herself off to her crate for a snooze just before everyone arrived.  She was completely unfazed by the noise and the number of people.  

When she woke up she ate all her lunch (yay!) out to do her business then back in to charm everyone (she's been taking lessons from Alan I think :-) and pose for photos.  She then got her Ikea Golden Retriever and snuggled into it with her head under a coffee table and slept the rest of the afternoon.

The reunion was fantastic and quite emotional.  We had a video message from overseas and another video message from a friend who's on holiday and couldn't come.  She sent two videos - the finished one and the edited one, which was hilarious!  :-))  And the sad thing is, Carolyn, whose conversation started this ball rolling, wasn't able to be here as she has sciatica!   Oh well, we might just have to do it all again next year! :D 

Alan was very excited about one visitor, Rosemary.  Rosemary was the receptionist at his pre-school and he used to sit with her at her desk at the end of every school day (waiting for me to pick him up.  Alway late!) and was her helper.  He loved it when she answered the phone and said her introductory spiel.  

Alan was eight years old the last time he saw Rosemary but as you can see from my blip, he clearly remembers her and cherishes the time he spent with her.   Five to ten minutes spent together at the end of a pre-school day and their bond still exists.  Small acts of kindness make such a big difference to people's lives.