Memories of a Co-worker
Finding a friend and meeting my mate
By Lila Gill
I still remember my first day here at Camphill Dunshane five and half years ago. It had been a long journey from Washington State to Naas. Co. Kildare. It was early August and the new group of co-workers had just arrived. We had an introductory meeting and tea afterwards.
That afternoon I met two people who would leave a special mark on my life.
It was the Summer holiday and all the students were still at home except for one. It was then that I first met Ian Morgan. I also met my future husband Marcus that afternoon but he didn't make a good impression on me that time.
Ian, however, greeted me with a great big, warm hug and I immediately felt more comfortable amongst all these strangers.
With no family to go home to, Ian has grown up in Camphill, first arriving in Glencraig when he was seven or eight years old. He came to Dunshane when he had finished his schooling there. Ian truly is at home in Dunshane and he spreads that sense of comfort to those around him.
That was the beginning of a very exciting year. I learned so many new skills: gardening, bread making, basket making even how to milk a cow!But most of all I learned about people and the challenges and gifts that come with living together in a community. At the end of the year I realized that I was not ready to leave yet. I had grown to love this very different way of life and most of all I just couldn't imagine my life without the students.
| | From the beginning I felt a special connection. This connection has strengthened over the years and he has come to feel like a brother to me.
Marcus, Ian and I have been on several holidays together. Two years ago we went to Lanzarote and Ian went on his first plane ride which he loved.
The following year we went to Madeira and had a great time. Ian loves the beach and the water and he especially loves to go on boat rides. These adventures with Ian have been much fun and we have all had so many laughs
together.
However, it was in the Summer of 2006 that Ian gave us the most wonderful gift. When Marcus and I got married in Dunshane we asked Ian to be our ring bearer.
The day before our wedding all the people in the wedding party did a walk-through of the ceremony but about halfway through Ian wandered off looking for some sticks, no doubt. So we wondered if he would know what to do and where to go on the big day. But we needn't have worried, looking as handsome as ever in a tuxedo, drenched from the rain that poured down on us all, he walked down the hill with our rings and brought them to us along with one of his warm hugs. It was a particularly touching moment during a day filled with emotion for us.
After all these years Ian still puts a smile on my face and he is a large reason why I have chosen to make my home here as well. |
