A mentor appears!

This is about meeting a new friend – Jennifer Duval-Smith. My husband met her first, with our two youngest sons competing together at athletics. He came home and said, “I’ve met someone I just know you’ll like.”

I had recently undergone major back surgery, plus I was recovering from serious heart issues. Once I felt strong enough, Jennifer invited me to visit. I was thrilled to see that she and her family lived in an old wooden Mt Eden villa, set in a rambling garden full of fruit trees, hydrangeas, salvias, roses and occasionally topiarised bay trees. The front door was open, so I ‘yoo-hoo’-ed and walked down a long hallway lined with treasures, art and artefacts; it felt like I was home.