My friends Jim and Mimmu Sloan are moving to Finland next week. I went to a lovely dinner tonight in their honor. We went around the room and shared stories and memories. Some of the people there have known them 40 years (I've known them nearly 20 years). I told about asking Mimmu (who is an amazing cook, baker and hostess) if I could bring 10 gals from church over for dinner a few years ago. I wanted them to get to know her and I wanted her to get to know them. She graciously agreed and we all enjoyed a delicious meal and many delightful stories at her big square table. It was a memorable night! Jim and Mimmu raised five children of their own and many foster children. Four of their children and most of their grandchildren will live within a few hours of them in Finland. They will be missed by the hundreds of people they have befriended in New England.
If I close my eyes, I can almost hear them singing, in beautiful harmony, "For health and strength and daily food we praise thy name, O Lord".
4 comments:
Hey! I know that round!
I'm so sad to lose them, but I remember a conversation I had with Mimmu while we were watching my kids play and she got this tear in her eye and talked about her grandchildren across the ocean and and how hard it was not to watch them grow up. So now she can, but I'll sure miss her!
Interesting. I've wondered what the Sloans were up to. I had not heard much from them since I left NE in 2002 though I am friends with most of her kids on Facebook.
Jim was my home teaching companion when I was a teacher or so (teen ager). Seeing as we lived almost 30 minutes apart, and our route was several towns worth, he was very conscientious and taught me a lot about being a home teacher. (I am almost 47 now).
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