Meet Stan & Lyndell Hughes.
“We’ve been married for 56 years. We met through friends of friends – I was teaching in Hamilton and I came up to Ottawa for the weekend to see the tulips. I was invited to dinner at the place where he was boarding, and we met there. We broke up a couple of times along the way, mind you, but we always came together again. I would say to young couples to make sure you enjoy the romance of that early time together. There is no need to rush. We had two years before we had children and it was such a time of enjoying our lives and just getting to know each other, exploring each other’s personalities. It was a good foundation. One of the biggest things we have learned is to compromise. As we get older we have learned to relinquish and share some of our responsibilities from earlier in our lives together. We have a little age difference, so now I’m able to take on some of the responsibilities like driving, signing the cheques. But the background we built together is there so I don’t have to worry.
You have to share a sense of humour. That is so important, and Stan is wonderful that way.
And Lyndell is great company. We really are ‘mates.’ We really have a wonderful time. Not that it is always that way – that wouldn’t be life. One of our children died, and we had to be each other’s support. We have a wonderful community – maybe that is part of the secret – to build a community around you both.” Collected by Kate Settle
Humans of Kitchissippi is a special street photography project designed to introduce readers to some of the people who live, work, and play in Kitchissippi. Each instalment of HOK contains three elements: a photo, a name, and a quote from the subject that reveals a little bit about who they are. View our growing collection of humans right here.