Foggy, drizzly Ontario weather greeted my Ontario friend here in Edmonton this morning during our breakfast reunion.

Melanie, who lived in Edmonton from 1990 to 1997, commented, “Where’s my sunny Alberta?”

Where, indeed? We’ve certainly had an uncharacteristic abundance of grey skies in recent years. However, one must always be grateful for roads that are clear of snow and ice in this province. If we are to see each other for just over two hours every couple of years, we cannot be hampered by delays and uncertainty.

What’s special about Mel?

Italy

First, she was my next-door neighbour from January 1976 to May 1987, when she was 11 and I was 12. Second, she was of Ukrainian background and I was Czech, so we shared some commonalities with food and language. Third, we kept in contact for most of the years between 1987 and now, October 2016. If you do the math, this means we’ve been friends for 40 years and 9 months, or 40.75 years, which is 77% of my life.

A lot can happen in three-quarters of a lifetime: tree climbing and eating crab apples, walking our dogs, swimming at the community pool, reading about the first Star Trek movie in the newspaper, scary movie nights, high school Italy trip, university, double ear piercings, careers, life, grey hair—and always Melanie’s personalized Christmas cards with photos sent across the miles when we were no longer living in the same city.

Two hours over latte and panini is never enough, but we always pick up where we left off as if no time had passed. Here’s to next time!