Hi Priya,

I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to write back; it has been a busy few weeks for the whole family. Just as we thought life would calm down, Lucia broke the news that she has accepted a research position in Vancouver, and she moves at the end of next month! She will join a hospital team that specializes in treating rare childhood illnesses. It is a wonderful first step in her career, not to mention the chance to build a life of her own in a new city. Needless to say, she is over the moon. She has been making plans all week, and Tom keeps giving her advice she does not always want to hear!

She is anxious about being so far from home, though the hospital has arranged a mentor and somewhere to live to help her settle in. Tom and I are finding it harder; we think she is still so young to be living on the other side of the country, yet we know it is for the best. It is a big change for the family, but we are sure the move will be good for her.

All of this comes only months after her medical-school graduation this spring, when my parents came to stay with us from Portugal. The ceremony was wonderful! It was a shame you couldn't make it, but we know it's a bit of a drive from Moncton, and you were truly missed. My mother still talks about you from our university days. We showed my parents around the coast here in Halifax before they flew on to Toronto yesterday; they head home from there at the weekend.

Just the other day Tom and I were looking at photos from that camping trip we all took when the girls were tiny. It has been nearly twenty years. Time flies, doesn't it? In any event, we are holding a send-off dinner for close friends next Saturday at our house, and Lucia cannot picture it without you, Raj and Sophie. We do hope you can make it; we haven't seen each other since last Easter. Let me know and I will get the rooms ready.

We'll be in touch, Love, Rosa