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The gift place of Love, the gift of Peace, the gift of Happiness--May all these be yours at Christmas! As 2017 draws to a close, we hope your year has been blessed!
Rich and Susan had planned to make this a relaxing year with lots of travel, both near and far. We got off to a good start, but fizzled out as the year progressed.
In March, we flew to Florida to spend a week with Rich’s brother Ron and his family. A week later, we traveled south to the island of St. Maarten, where we soaked up the sunshine and warm water with 9 other Seattle friends. The locals were very friendly going out of their way to make our vacation enjoyable. One example—we were in our car looking for a particular grocery store and were lost. After we pulled over trying to figure out the location, a young mother stopped to ask if we needed help. She then proceeded to lead us to the store. After we left, hurricane Irma devastated 90% of the island. Our hearts go out to the islanders as tourism is their main source of income.
After 10 days, our group retreated to Miami, where we boarded a cruise ship for a week of sailing in the Eastern Caribbean. Stops in Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel were all wonderful escapes from the dreary and record-setting wet Northwest’s weather. Rich also got to do some snorkeling photography.
This turned out to be our grand adventure for the year. All other trips involved family visits. Five trips to Salem to see Rich’s Mom, and two to Evansville. One trip to Salem coincided with a visit from Rich’s Floridian brother and his family. An August visit allowed us to watch the solar eclipse with friends from directly under its path, enabling us to witness a total blackout. It was truly a display of nature’s awesomeness.
The Evansville trips were to attend Susan’s 50th high school class reunion and a reunion of her Oldenburg Franciscan class. 50 years seems impossible, but each reunion seemed to dissolve those years apart. Yes, we are all grayer, slower in movement, but all much wiser! Susan was so delighted to see so many of her dear friends. We are grateful to sister Louise, and husband Bob, for hosting us. Besides enjoying time with Susan’s family, we squeezed in side trips to visit longtime friends Dan & Kathy Wickard in June. In October we visited Susan’s sister Phyllis, and husband Lee and her daughter, Tara and family. Tara has 3 children, aged kindergarten and younger. We now have an appreciation of what her days are like and why Grammie Phyllis is there to help!
We also enjoyed a busy summer of family visitors. Susan’s cousins, Edna & Barb, had a half day in Seattle on their way to an Alaska tour in May. It was fun giving them an abbreviated tour of our city. Rich’s cousin Susan Thorson and husband Murray visited us in June. In July, Susan’s brother, Alan & Lori and family spent part of their northwest vacation with us. In addition to Pike Place Market and hiking at Mount Rainier, we went on a guided river rafting tour. Daughters Caitlin and Brooke enjoyed the cold water, jumping in without any prompting! While they were visiting, Susan’s sister, Louise and Bob, also joined us for a few days, enabling a mini family reunion on our deck. Their daughter Sara joined us from Portland and introduced her fiancée, Colin, to some of the family.
At our age there are always health issues. We celebrate when they are inconsequential. Susan had cataract surgery in one eye in January, and the other eye in May. Her November brain MRI showed no changes since her biopsy 2 years ago, so she gets to wait two years before the next one! Rich got off easier; just a colonoscopy.
When we first got married, we bought a condo and have been renting it for the past 30 years. With the Seattle area real estate market being the hottest in the U.S. this year, we started discussing when we should sell it. The exterior of the units was renovated in June by the HOA and our tenant announced she was moving out in July. We decided this would be the year. Rich began the preparations in August. He was there painting, upgrading, and repairing most week days from mid-August through end-of-November, except when we were traveling. It is now complete and we hope to sell it in January.
Rich resisted accepting any new clients for his financial planning business. Instead, he has been coaching more family and friends. He did manage to attend a Seahawks football game. Both he and Susan attended several Sounders MLS soccer games.
Susan volunteered to be the Treasure for her Children’s Guild. It is giving her a new appreciation of record keeping.
Each year, we find the maintenance of our yard and view of Lake Washington takes more out of us. It is no longer recreational. We have started talking of moving to a smaller home, maybe a community focused on seniors like us.
We will make a third trip to Evansville in late December to spend Christmas with Susan’s family, followed by a trip to Salem in early January for a Hopkins family Christmas. With that, we launch into a new year and new adventures. Something for you to look forward to in next year’s letter!
Our wish for you this Christmas season—May all that is meaningful, beautiful and gives you joy be yours now and throughout the coming year.…
Rich and Susan
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