VIRGINIA & ANNE
After retiring from her career as Director of Early Childhood Services for the Nova Scotia Department of Education & Early Childhood Development in 2014, Virginia moved from Halifax to Vancouver to join her sons and grandchildren on the west coast.
She was ready to make new friends, but she had no idea she’d run into some old ones, too.
“I knew I could be very comfortable on either coast,” she says, looking forward to her grandmother’s role. “I made new friends right away, with other grandparents.”
“I’m also a walker, so my new home – within easy walking distance of everything near Broadway and Cambie – helped me settle into Vancouver very quickly.
It was one of her new grandmother friends who, in 2018, invited a few of their group to Vancouver’s Point Grey Brock House for lunch one day.
“I didn’t know what Brock House was but once I found out that it was an engaging Senior Centre, I immediately joined and became involved,” says Virginia.
As a member of the centre’s fun Social Events Committee, Virginia served others at Special Event sit-down occasions.
While she was serving at the Robert Burns lunch in 2019, she spotted a member wearing a Nova Scotian tartan. When the two women exchanged words about the tartan, they quickly realized they were both from Halifax.
A few words into their conversation, they blurted out “Anne” and “Ginny,” on recognizing each other, some 50+ years after they had last seen each other in their hometown.
“I felt surprised, maybe even a little shocked, yet excited to think that after all these years it was possible to reconnect with someone with whom I had shared experiences from a much earlier time in our lives.”
The gals had been close childhood friends, had attended Sunday School together and were both part of the Canadian Girls in Training (CGIT), a non-denominational organization for girls in Grades 7-12 that focused on leadership skills, self-care and social responsibility. They also had family and friends in common but had lost touch over the years.
“Now we talk about our lives in Halifax, and about all the people we used to know in those days,” says Virginia. “We continue to see each other and stay in touch.”
“It was a truly happy, delightful and special moment to see Anne again and the memories just started to flow,” recalls Virginia (Ginny).
“Amazing, right?” echoes Anne.
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