The word “organizing” in an ad posted on a telephone pole in Vancouver a decade ago stopped June in her tracks.
“I knew immediately that it was calling me,” she says. At the time, June was a semi-retired jazz singer. “I really needed help organizing my paperwork and photos and files.”
That’s how she met the highly skilled Odette, who, after being recently widowed from a lifelong marriage, had decided to start a small neighbourhood initiative.
“I was feeling very lost at the time,” admits Odette. “I can’t sit still for long, and I had a lot of organizational skills to put to good use.”
Her ability to think laterally and vertically, and the many years of working alongside her musician husband, made the new connection with June a good fit.
“Odette and I have a mutual admiration, and apart from our symbiotic work relationship, we quickly discovered that we also had many interests, social connections and a love of words in common,” says June.
Almost 10 years on, the two are still working together a few days a week. They both say it’s their combined sharp wit, sense of humour and ongoing understanding and empathy for each other that has bonded their connection into a heartfelt friendship through changing times and tasks.
“We know each other so well now,” says June, fondly recalling which coffee shop she was leaving when she spotted Odette’s posting.
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