Anne and Fred Kallin started coming to Bondi when Megan was 11 months old. That was 25 years ago. Meg and Rob still ensure that they get time off their jobs to spend a week at the cottage (or as much of a week as their boss will allow!) with their parents. We treasure that, as much as Anne and Fred do.
Arlene Groh has been coming to Bondi with her family for 40 years. Not just in the summer, but for a Winter Get-Together weekend as well. John can be found every morning, kayaking beside Arlene while she swims to the Point and back. Greg, Laura and grand-daughter Elisa came in from Vancouver this summer for the week. Lisa, Marcus and the three boys, Tim, Nate and Marty, have never missed a summer with us. We hope they never do. During their two weeks here, other family members come to stay, and the cottage rocks to the beat of their extraordinary cuisine, hammocks by the lake, kayaks and rockin' Water Canons...
Ann Biggar (ne Kerfoot) started coming to Bondi with her parents when she was just 5 years old. She has been a "summer fixture" every year since, except for a brief hiatus when the kids were all at University. As soon as possible, Ann and Mike came back, and this marks their 50th summer with us. Their four children -- John, Graeme, Jeff and Laura -- now all grown into fabulous young adults still are as keen as ever to come with Mom and Dad. They need a second cottage now, as the family expands! John, the eldest son, is marrying Jennifer in September. Laura, the youngest, just received her MA in Screenplay Writing from the University of London, England. We are beyond delighted that they still want to find the time in their busy lives to gather with us as Family.
Because, after 25, 40 or 50 years... these guests truly are part of our Family.
To honour the occasion, we gave them this photograph, which Brian took from his plane earlier this year, and which we hope will hang in their homes and bring them a little bit of Bondi Magic all year long.
That definitely makes it a tradition!
ReplyDelete