Diane

When my son was three, I met a woman who would have a true impact on Nicholas and me. She was introduced to me by my next door neighbor of 23 years, Karen. Diane had a large family, nine children as a matter of fact, and she welcomed Nicholas and I into her gregarious, generous household. As an only child with very little family around, near or far, Nicholas loved spending time at her house. She was always baking, and made the best homemade donuts, and her husband Chester, a prolific songwriter and self taught pianist and guitar player, also made the best cheese burgers in town. Their house was always filled with children, every one was always welcome, and every one seemed to stay all day just about every day. They never turned a child away, and every one always stayed for dinner. Diane's tolerance of the chaos the large amount of children of all ages, hers and the neighbors generated was amazing. She never complained, she never lost her temper, it was an open house for many a lonely child who otherwise would have spent the day home alone while their parents were at work. She always had a large number of children's books at hand, and she would sit down with any child who wanted her to read to them, oblivious to the chaos of scattered toys every where. She had the  patience of a saint, and respected children completely. She taught them basic cooking skills, let them turn her kitchen upside down, allowing them to make bread and cookies, and sandwiches, empowering often socially challenged children with timeless memories of empowerment. As Nicholas got older, her husband who is also a skilled boy scout leader with 25 years of experience, would introduce the boys to basic camping and survival skills. He too always displayed an enormous talent for patience and respect towards the children. Part of Nicholas' computer skills and interest he learned at Chester and Diane's house. Her husband is one of the talents a the South Puget Sound Community College where Nicholas is now taking classes and works part time as a computer lab technician. I see Diane a lot less now, but the memories Nicholas and I have of her and her children and her husband and the good times we spent at their house is priceless and imprinted on our hearts. At Diane's house, love your neighbour like yourself is taken seriously every day without hesitation and without hypocrisy. As a result, their house generates a deep sense of peace , warmth and purpose to all who spend any amount of time there. A most unusual and rare gift from a most unusual husband and wife.