In closing out 2011 we celebrate the life we have as a married couple of soon-to-be twenty-five years, amid an ever-expanding circle of family & friends. It can be said 2011 has been the best one yet, our seventh year into retirement, and the first without caregiver duties. Sandra has added to her ‘farmer’ identity by having a greenhouse and toolshed built. She also declared herself a writer, a talent most of us already knew. Nate has cast himself a poet and philosopher, in support for the drifting ways of his spirit.
We moved many pieces of furniture from Sandra’s mother’s house to our house, which upgraded our quarters. We sold and gave away everything else and had the house remodeled. It is now being rented, a big accomplishment.
Although Sandra still misses her mother, we have more freedom to travel and ‘go with the flow.’ Activities have slowed a little and we have more time to connect with each other--and ourselves. We have taken classes in genealogy and photography and gone on day-long local sightseeing trips through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Sandra edits the OLLI newsletter. We enjoy Westminster Presbyterian Church, which has added a music academy to it’s many musical events.
We visited Nate’s old haunts in Los Angeles, where Nate “came of age.” There we attended a spectacular wedding of the daughter of Nate’s close friend during his college and grad school days.
Good friends, Nancy and Ross Stevenson joined us on Georgia’s St. Simon’s Island for a week of relaxation, nature, history and conversation.
Each of us attended our 50th high school reunions, Nate’s in Iowa, and Sandra’s right here in Petal, often struggling to recognized people, as our memories have changed over the years.
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