In the mid-seventies, one Sunday, when Heidi and Lee settled into the pews of Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights for the very first time, we came to realize we had done so on the day a new senior minister was to deliver his very first sermon to the assembled congregation. That new pastor was DAVID REES. And we were impressed, both with what he had to say and the way in which he said it, so much so that soon after we, too, joined the congregation ourselves, which has remained our church home ever since.
DAVE and HELEN, together with their two daughters, SARAH and REBECCA, evenually moved on to serve churches in Berkeley, California, and Miami, Florida. Summers, however, the family always returned to their lake cottage on Lake Mohawk outside Malvern, Ohio; and the Makela family were frequent weekend visitors.
Over the years, we basked in the sun, rode around the lake in DAVE's boat, swan off their dock (after a lengthy trek down several flights of stairs to the shoreline), ate many a meal on their open-air deck, played lots of games and enjoyed endless stimulating conversations.
One summer we even stayed in the Berkeley home while they were off in Ohio. We also stopped by to visit them in Florida on a couple of occasions, and they stayed with us at our timeshare on Hilton Head Island.
More significantly, DAVE presided over the marriages of all three of our children (two at Plymouth; one in Cincinnati). And together we all watched their two kids grow up, marry and begin families of their own. It came as no surprise, then, that, when DAVE finally retired, they would choose to move back to California where both daughters' families had taken up residence.
Today we drove up to stay with them at their new condominium apartment in Rossmoor, a retirement community on the outskirts of Walnut Creek, and to visit with both Sarah's and Rebecca's families. It was wonderful to meet Sarah's husband Dave Carroll for the first time, to visit with Rebecca's Alex again, as well as to meet all three grandchildren: Dylan, Oliver and Lola. Dinner at Marica in Oakland was also a special treat. And, not surprisingly, the conversation all along the way was as stimulating as always.
Tomorrow the four of us members of the senior generation will be off to Napa Valley for an overnight visit to Wine Country, fulfilling a pledge we made one another once we knew the REESES were moving back to California.
Details to follow (once we sober up) ...
Over the years, we basked in the sun, rode around the lake in DAVE's boat, swan off their dock (after a lengthy trek down several flights of stairs to the shoreline), ate many a meal on their open-air deck, played lots of games and enjoyed endless stimulating conversations.
One summer we even stayed in the Berkeley home while they were off in Ohio. We also stopped by to visit them in Florida on a couple of occasions, and they stayed with us at our timeshare on Hilton Head Island.
More significantly, DAVE presided over the marriages of all three of our children (two at Plymouth; one in Cincinnati). And together we all watched their two kids grow up, marry and begin families of their own. It came as no surprise, then, that, when DAVE finally retired, they would choose to move back to California where both daughters' families had taken up residence.
Today we drove up to stay with them at their new condominium apartment in Rossmoor, a retirement community on the outskirts of Walnut Creek, and to visit with both Sarah's and Rebecca's families. It was wonderful to meet Sarah's husband Dave Carroll for the first time, to visit with Rebecca's Alex again, as well as to meet all three grandchildren: Dylan, Oliver and Lola. Dinner at Marica in Oakland was also a special treat. And, not surprisingly, the conversation all along the way was as stimulating as always.
Tomorrow the four of us members of the senior generation will be off to Napa Valley for an overnight visit to Wine Country, fulfilling a pledge we made one another once we knew the REESES were moving back to California.
Details to follow (once we sober up) ...
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