I
haven't done one of these for several years. Thought I'd get back to
it. Time flies and too much goes by before I realize how long it's been
since I've caught up with friends and family. You are in my thoughts
often and I'll work harder in the new year to get out of my head and
onto the phone and out of the door!
Here's some of what we've been up to--
Z
returned to school full-time and he also got his driver's license so he
is able to get himself to and from classes on his own. That meant a new
car for me, so he could use my older one to get around without
stranding me at home. He is aware that it is not really his car,
but he is the primary user of it as Katie is away at school most of the
year. We are proud at how well he did this semester and know he will be
going far--but not just yet. One more year commuting to NoVa is ahead.
This summer he will look for where he would like to transfer to finish
up. I'm sure he's really looking forward to diving into Calculus next
semester (NOT!).
K
is still loving Hollins. She started 2018 with
a January Term art trip to Rome and Florence and came back with a lot
of wonderful sketches. She is heading back to campus for the second
half of her junior year and we can't believe how fast her college career
has flown by! She is beginning to think about what will be next after
undergrad, but first she has accepted an invitation to join her roommate
for a spring break trip to stay with an aunt in Venice. Yes--Pete and I
are jealous! But very happy she is having the opportunity to travel so
much.
Pete
is still with the same firm, but now in the digital division. I'm
not fully up to speed on what that means as far as what exactly he
does, but it is an exciting move into new technology and he has been
easing into his usual leadership role with this new team. He is more fit
now at 50 years old than ever, but there are the aches and pains
of having kicked around this long too. ;-) Overall, he's doing very
well.
I
was asked by my client if I could fill in
doing program marketing
for some employees who had moved on. It's been years, but I agreed just
to help her out of a jam. Now I remember why I stopped doing that kind
of work LOL! I'll wrap that up in February and move onto my usual event
planning role with them. One big change was that they had to hire me on
outright rather than as a consultant, so I'm a bonafide employee again. I
lost my mind one afternoon and signed up for the Disney Princess
Half-Marathon which, if I survive training, I'll run just after my
birthday in February.
2018 brought a lot of work on the house. New siding, then getting that fixed a few times, painting and a few other chores. I might not want to own my own place after this one, so much nicer to just call a landlord to say that something needs fixing!
In
addition to K's jaunts around Italy, Pete joined me on my last
event in New Orleans and we stayed a few extra days to enjoy that city.
We had never been together and I hadn't been for years. Still a great
town. We also At Long Last got up to Vermont to visit with dear friends
Marie and Celest at their home near Montpelier and even got to hear them
jam with their Italian music band-what a treat! We then headed up to
Montreal for a few days. I invited myself along to a business trip Pete
had to San Diego and met two Canadian women on my solo visit to the SD
Zoo. We toured around all day and had a lot of fun. Those Canadians are
so nice! We just returned from a holiday family trip to San Francisco.
Pete and I used to go about every 2 years, but we hadn't been in about 9
years. It was a great trip and even better to all be together for a
week.
As
a lot of folks, we have been bewildered by the political situation here
and around the world and also the meanness online and spilling out into
the public square. I've scaled back time on Twitter to practically
nothing, only checking in on folks I know in real life, and that has helped my serenity quite a bit. I also spend
less time on Facebook, but it is a necessary evil for making plans and
keeping up with some of the local political action groups I've been
working with. One is Spread the Vote, which helps folks get a state ID
so they can not only vote, but also get a job, get into a shelter, or
get any social services they need. It has been very rewarding. (www.spreadthevote.org).
In
sad news, we lost my sister-in-law Carrie's mother Molly recently. I
have known her since I was 9 years old and her passing was quite a
shock. We are all still walking through that great change in our lives.
In
happier news, my grand niece turned one year old and is
walking and talking (very gifted). She is a light to carry us all into a
new year.
Our
parents are doing very well. Pete's have had some health challenges but
are back to normal or on the mend. My mom is doing great and I've had
several visits to her new home on LI. So convenient to fly directly into
Islip airport from Baltimore.
I
hope that you had more happy and hopeful times than challenges last
year and more to come in this new one. Keep in touch when you can. We
love you.
