Patty

Judy. I first met Patty in Santiago, Chile, in the spring of 2019, at the church we were both attending as visitors. Somehow we hit it off—in many ways we’re of the same mind—sisters from another mister, as she puts it. Despite the fact that we actually spent very little time together, we have texted and emailed, and that friendship has grown over the years. Patty’s one of those friends you can spill your guts to, knowing full well she’ll take it in stride. She is a true gift. 

Although their home is in Calgary, Alberta, Patty’s husband Dave, works on developing a mine in northern Chile. This means she moves back and forth several times a year, sometimes with Dave, sometimes alone. Patty’s parents, good friends, and, most importantly, her granddaughter, are back in Canada, so getting back is naturally important to her. When we made plans to travel to Alaska this year, Ted suggested we also visit Alberta, a province we’d not yet explored. Hoping against hope, I contacted Patty to see if by chance she’d be in Calgary, and thank goodness, she said yes! Then she invited us to spend four days with her; unfortunately, we’d miss Dave by one day. 

I guess there’s always that little tiny fear that once you see each other face to face, you’ll find you don’t like each other so much, but that was sure not the case! From the time I spotted her at the airport holding flowers and a Canadian flag till we left four days later, I think we never stopped talking. We even managed to include Ted!

 

We did our best to explore the city and surrounding area, taking short hikes, visiting Heritage Park and learning about Alberta history. We ate like royalty, sat on her beautiful back porch, curled up in her living room, and caught up. 

A cool and cozy porch

Heritage Park

Goofing around at Elbow Falls

She gave us space one afternoon to drive to the other side of the city to visit Connie, the niece of our friend Mavis, who fed us tea and cake and stories of her family.

The day we left, she packed us a bag of snacks, Dave's best Scotch whiskey (sorry, Dave), napkins, and lots of love. It made hotel evenings much cozier over the next few nights. 

Long-distance friendships are often hard to maintain, I guess. Ted and I love meeting folks along the way, and, if we’re able, catching up with them later. Patty makes it easy. Blessings upon Blessings, Grace upon Grace. That’s Patty.