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CHRISTMAS
2007
Warm welcomes, happy homecomings, memorable moments. . .
wishing you a home full of joy this holiday season from Rich & Susan.
Merry Christmas to all our cherished family and friends!
2007 was a unique year for us in that; it was the first year both of us were retired. Although Susan retired many years ago, this was Rich’s first full year in retirement. That meant he was now around the house most of the day (referred to by some as underfoot), something both of us had to adjust to. We began addressing some common retirement questions. What will we do with all our new time? How will we keep from getting in each other’s way? Who gets to use the computer, and when and for how long?
Much of Susan’s time has already been allocated by commitments initiated in previous years. The student she mentors, Nitsa, is now in 7th grade. This is their 7th year together, and Nitsa’s personality continues to mature. She is gradually becoming a young lady and a delightful companion. She continually refreshes Susan’s vocabulary with new words like “Dude” and “way cool“. Meanwhile, Susan continued tutoring students from Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia in English as a volunteer in the local community college’s ESL program. Through her church, she cooked and served dinners to about 24 homeless men. The experience changes one’s attitudes about homelessness, while making us more grateful for what we have. She also continues to be active in a Children’s Hospital Guild. Her favorite project is the Santa Breakfast they host with Nordstroms.
To challenge her foot-eye coordination, she decided to take classes in line-dancing with a group of friends. Her 2 left feet struggle, but on occasion, they cooperate! She has already added the Electric Slide and the Cowgirl Twist to her repertoire!
Rich’s retirement goal was to open and run a small financial planning practice. That was delayed while he completed the licensing requirements (which included lots of paperwork) and our travels early in the year. But on June 1st, we celebrated the official opening of Financial LifeMaps. The business has only enrolled a half dozen clients so far, but much of the set-up work has been completed and he is prepared to expand in 2008.
Rich’s list of “to do in 2007” included many of the usual suspects; chopping down trees to preserve our view of Lake Washington, making repairs and improvements to our rental house, and painting another side of our house. Unfortunately, early rains allowed him to postpone most of this year’s painting until next spring. It is looking like one side of the house will be painted each year for the rest of his life.
New retirees are supposed to do a lot of traveling, right? It didn’t exactly work that way for us in 2007. Most of our trips were to visit family and friends rather than undertake exotic adventures. But watch out 2008. We are out to change that. Here is a recap of 2007.
FLORIDA 
Our antidepressant for the wet, dreary winter days in Seattle was a 3 week trip to Florida in February. We started by visiting Susan’s parents north of Tampa, where they usually rent a home for 6 weeks each February. We were joined there by Susan’s sister and husband, Louise and Bob. The four of us created our own Florida expedition that took us to the Keys by way of Naples and a drive through the Everglades. We got pretty good at spotting alligators along the road without leaving our car.
This year’s Superbowl in Miami felt like a monsoon. We were glad our reserved seats were 100 miles away in front of a big screen rather than in the stadium. Seattle weather must have followed us to Florida! But after the Indianapolis Colts win, and in spite of the rain, Bob proclaimed “All is right with the world”. And then the sun came out!
We made a quick tour of the northern half of the Keys, but didn’t make it far enough south to reach Margaritaville, Instead, we headed north to Deland to visit Sara, Susan’s niece and Louise and Bob’s daughter. The 5 of us spent a day enjoying Epcot and Disney World, where we proved we are still young enough to act like kids (sometimes).
Rich and Susan then said goodbye to Louise and Bob, and joined Rich’s brother Ron and his family to celebrate their daughter Erin’s birthday. They live NW of Orlando. As usual, Erin and Jennifer kept us entertained!
We made “long weekend” trips to Oregon to visit Rich’s Mom and brothers’ families in March, May and again for Thanksgiving. But the big event was when Ron and his family traveled from Florida in early July. It was a mini family reunion. Highlights included a day of hiking in Silver Creek Falls State Park, which has over 11 waterfalls. Of course, knowing where they all are helps. Our 2-hour hike turned into a 4-hour hike. Our niece Kelly planned a unique “animal farm” visit for her younger cousins. This farm is a licensed reserve for some exotic animals including a Bengal tiger, wolves, a bobcat, etc. Petting a de-scented skunk was fun, but getting up close to the wolves and the tiger was unique. Some of us viewed from a further distance!
Rich’s Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer late last year, and had a small tumor removed in January. This was followed by 6 weeks of radiation treatment, and then twice-weekly trips to one doctor or another. She has successfully recovered, but has yet to regain her original energy level.
During August, we spent 3 weeks in Indiana. The key note event was the 60th wedding anniversary of Susan’s parents. After renewing their vows in the church, the family hosted about 50 people for a meal, followed by an open house for additional family and friends. Mom and Dad Spindler reminisced over their years together and all the memories they had created with their family (now numbering 28)! Their love is truly inspiring.
We also drove to Knoxville, TN to visit our friends the Wickards. It was our last chance to see their daughter Alyssa before beginning her 1st year of college at Furmann. Dan was recovering from a jet-ski accident, and barely moving. We rolled up our sleeves and helped with a few chores. While there we took a day to drive through part of the Smokey Mountains. Our hypothesis is that the haze is just hot, dense humidity. At least that is how it felt any time we were without air conditioning.
While Rich returned to Seattle to attend a national conference for financial planners, Susan joined 17 of her 23 Religious Life classmates for a 40-year reunion in Oldenburg, IN. Although 7 of her Sister friends remain in the Franciscan Community, the gift that all are to their families and community was celebrated. For 2 days they laughed, visited, prayed and sang. It was truly a blessed event.
While Susan was in Chicago playing Auntie, Rich attended the annual Baker Lake cult event. This year, he stayed the entire week. Without Susan to object, he was able to retro to his old camping tent amongst a forest of RVs. This included George and Maggie’s new motor home, which was quickly christened in traditional Baker Lake style. Fortunately for the tenters, the rains held off until day 5.
After Susan returned, we managed to do a little traveling within our own state. After all, there is no place as beautiful during summer. Our late July hike in Mt Rainier National Park was just one example. We walked along a rushing stream and through fields filled with wild flowers. Come visit us and we will show you Washington’s beauty!
As we prepare for travels to visit both of our families over the approaching holidays, we send you this wish,
Faith, Family and Friends—May you be blessed with these gifts at Christmas and always!
Rich and
Susan Hopkins
