In 1973, I became part of a family in the small village Ottawa Hills in Ohio. There, the Jenks family opened their home and hearts to me as an exchange student and I can’t imagine how my life would have evolved without that experience. My “mom and dad”, Mary Clare and Bill Jenks, and their three children, Jeff, Steve and Debbie – and later their spouses and children – have always considered my family and I as a part of theirs and vice versa.

Recently, Ásdís, Baldur, Birna, Einar and I, spent a few days on their islands in Canada, where my grandson, Einar, put his feet on the islands for the first time, like his grandfather did 44 years ago. Hopefully this story, that has enriched my life so much, will continue with a new generation.