2010, a year of many changes.  It started out in January with Al retiring from the BC Government after 35 years employment.  Most of it fighting forest fires and the 2009 season let him go with a bang. It did of course take him some time to LET GO and forget the fires; I think it was about 2 weeks which could have been his holidays.  When he didn’t go back to work he quickly started to calm down and did not even try to follow the fire season nor get involved.  It wasn’t long until he decided that retirement should have happened about 25 years ago or more. 

Marsha’s mother passed away in February and we were off to Flin Flon in order to see her before she passed.  This of course was in the middle of the northern Manitoba winter and was cold and snowy – quite a change from the warm and mostly snow free winter we had in Grand Forks. Marsha’s Dad is not doing well and will soon follow Bet, as he affectionately called her.

Marsha put her paper up for sale and found a buyer who took over in October, however she still is helping the new owner with some of the ads and we still have the photocopier until the end of the year.  Now she is “retired” also.  (Makes us seem old but?)

Since both of us were “retired”, we took a look at what we wanted for the rest of our life.  We decided that we wanted to be near “water” and Al didn’t want to shovel snow as much.

  Since Sister Lana and most of her children and grandchildren are either living or moving to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, we decided to move there.  Mother Pat applied for a transfer to assisted living in Courtenay and we moved her there at the beginning of October.  We put our house up for sale in September and plan to move there also as soon as it sells.  We are both looking forward to a new change in our lives however are sad to be leaving Grand Forks and the friends that we have made here.

The change will be traumatic but we are both looking forward to it.  Many of the things we enjoy are there and it seems that family gets to be more important as we grow older so wish us well. 

 September saw us in Alberta for one of Alan’s uncle’s funeral.  It seems that lots of our relatives and friends are moving on.  It is sad but it is life.  If nothing else it brings friends and relatives together so not all is unhappy.

Blessing to All, Love Alan & Marsha