I want to give you a monthly column that tells you about all the blessings 2020 brought to us.
The past year gave us the blessing of family. Our family came to us in many forms this year. By telephone, Facetime, in person, hand-written notes of love and sometimes even through the screen of a window.
We loved every minute we spent with our family and 2020 reminded us the importance of never taking for granted the moments we have together. We saw how resilient and remarkable our family members can be in order to show us that we are loved. We love you too.
We were blessed with friendships, some new and some are the long-time treasured ones. Leo Gress, Richie and Gail Mack, Lila Forseth, Denyse Hygard, Alma McGill, Raymond and Francis Mack, Doris Walliser and Mary Kowalski are the new friends we made in 2020.
How scary it was for some of them to leave their homes in the middle of a pandemic and come to live in a home shared with 49 people. They all soon realized that a pandemic is much easier to get through when you can look outside your door and see your neighbour’s smiling face.
We also made a few special friendships with people who came to the lodge in 2020 but ended up moving to a new home; Louis and Otilia Beaulieau and Sheila Lerat. We think of you often and hope you are enjoying your new friendships as much as we enjoyed getting to know you.
Nourishment in the form of delicious meals was one of the blessings that helped 2020 not seem so long. Most days we are delighted with the meals prepared in our kitchen at Creighton Lodge. Sometimes they brought back memories of our younger days, with recipes that we prepared for our own families.
Quesadillas was a dish that most had not experienced, but 2020 brought a Mexican supper enjoyed by many. (I want to say all but that would not be true). Lobster is a delicacy we serve annually on New Year’s Eve. Lobster is one of those dishes that could be compared to liver … You either love it or hate it, there is no middle ground.
Our dining room is still split up with the social distancing rules and we look forward to a day when we can dine with a full table again, but the meals are delicious and prepared with love. What more could we ask for? Creighton Lodge has quite a few talented ladies in the kitchen and they all work so hard each day to make us happy.
Lori Elliott, Jesse Hochstein, Shelley Hygard, Marcia Schmidt, Joan Fingler and Barb Taylor, you are all appreciated.
We didn’t have to wait for Santa this year to receive a gift. Gifts were bestowed upon us all year long in 2020. Most years we are thought of an average amount of times by the people who know us. This past year we were thought of daily by more people than we even knew existed.
We received meals from local restaurants, handwritten notes of love, cards with pictures drawn by children to let us know we aren’t alone in this, donations of puzzles and books to keep ourselves busy, computers to help pass the time, an iPad to connect with our families, funds to help purchase cleaning supplies, masks and so many more things that were given to us to make sure we came out of 2020 with a smile on our faces. We want you all to know that it worked. We felt the love from our community and it filled our hearts, we are all still smiling.
We were blessed with a safe home to live in that is maintained to the highest of standards by Warren Stubel. Warren is appreciated by everyone at the lodge because he goes above and beyond every day to ensure we are safe. His family even comes on snowy weekend days to make sure we don’t slip and fall. We can’t say enough about good things about Warren.
The lodge has night staff that is here for us when we find ourselves wandering the halls unable to sleep. Leanne Naka, Marcia Schmidt and Tamara Johnson are the main night ladies. We appreciate that they work nights so we aren’t alone when we do wake up.
They always are ready to put their tasks on hold in order to make a cup of tea or toast and talk with us until we feel sleepy again. We appreciate their kindness and friendship.
We are looking to 2021 to be a year where we once again can safely hug a little tighter, kiss a little longer and talk a little more with those that we love. Life is a gift that is precious and we don’t plan to waste a minute of a great year. Happy new year to you all.
