(Most of the family gathered a few months ago at Ruth and Brian's house)Note: for reasons unknown, the paragraph command does not work...
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Murphys, Ca-- The LaMonts have firmly moved into the realm of elders in the past year. I passed 85 and Pat has lightly touched 84.
All of our grandchildren are now adults with jobs and families of their own. We have two delightful greatgrands.
We're still here in the best neighborhood ever and still happy and reasonably healthy folks.
Yeah we had to get ready to evacuate a couple of times when fires came too close, and we saw more of doctors than in previous years, but all-in--all, it was pretty good stuff.
An aside: as much as I complain about Facebook, it has the great benefit of keeping us in touch with old friends and colleagues from Mobile, Alabama, to Turkey, from Seattle to Florida, Virginia to Asia. Old friends are the best gift ever.
We had a lot of fun times, some travel, family successes and a few challenges. It was a year of some transitions, and some stability.
But it is mostly good, so I'll start with a brief report on the younger side of the family.
We traveled to Spokane, Washington, for a visit with son Zack, his daughter Katie and her beautiful children Enlow (5) and Jamie (7). We got to meet Katie's boyfriend and rejoice that they are building a family together.
Zack is still working his way through the aftermath of a at-work vehicle accident (not his fault) and complications from Covid. It's been two years and he still can't work, but it is a fulltime job dealing with doctors and claims folk. He has a new dog which makes him happy, and remains cheerful still and revels in being a doting grandfather.
Daughter Ruth and husband Brian are settled here on their mini-ranch in Murphys. He gets promoted again, is renovating their home and watches out for his aging in-laws, and she has built a booming business at the toy store on Main Street downtown.
Their son Connor is living with them while working at computer coding fulltime for a company. He's considering moving to warmer climes, maybe San Diego.
Their daughter Delaney will soon be Doctor Scherr, graduating this Spring with her PHD in bio-engineering at Boston University. She already has a real paying job lined up in Boston, where her husband Cooper is already Dr. Scherr, now serving a residency on a nearby Boston Hospital. All those years of hard work and education are coming together. We will see them later this week when they make a quick California trip.
Pat and I have had mostly good health and good luck, just a few aches and pains that come with age.
Pat and I are blessed to live in such a great neighborhood. Our next door neighbors are good friends, others bring me cookies when I am down with a bug. One neighbor is an artist, some are musicians, others are retired pastors and teachers and businesspeople. All get along.
Our church remains a big part of our lives.
Pat works almost daily at something called "pastoral care," driving folks to the doctor appointments, making meals and generally just making sure people know they are cared for.
I still sing in the choir, something I've done for more than 70 years, and host a weekly music jam at our house where we play mostly Americana music (a fancy word for folk), share tunes, drink a little wine and just enjoy the company. We have dinner with six friends once a week, Pat has a group of women she meets with, and I gamble with my buddy every week or so at the local Indian casino. After years of donating to support the tribe, this year I am slightly ahead so far.
Early this year we sold our much-loved and well-traveled VW Eurovan which we enjoyed for almost ten years. The bed seemed to shrink over the years, and mechanical issues were always looming.
We did make it to the Oregon coast, made a Fall color trip into the Sierra, camped in Spring at Joshua Tree National Park with neighbors Gary and Jeri, and went with them to Reno for a stunningly goof concert by Allison Krause and Union Station. And one more annual trip to Yosemite National Park.
What next? We decided to try a smal trailer, actually a large Teardrop, which we can tow behind Pat's car. We tested it just once recently, and the bed is large and soft, and everything works (thanks to my son-in-law).
I have now been retired 20 years. We had a decade of sailing mostly in our own boat, trveling the West in our VW van, and now look in new directions.
This stormy Christmas season we are planning trips for the coming year.
We are not sure where that will take us, but there are always more places to explore and discover.
1 comment:
Great Christmas blog!
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