Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. Karl Barth
2013 has been another year of joy. Retirement for Penny has been a mix of leisure time, substitute teaching, and new volunteer endeavors: all rewarding. Kevin’s church work and coaching are flexible enough that we enjoy lots of freedom and time together. Kevin’s big news this year was playing golf at Augusta National Golf Club just three weeks after the Master’s Tournament! Play at Augusta is so exclusive that it wasn’t even on his “bucket list” . . . the only way to play is to be invited by a member. A friend here in Medford takes a couple of guys every year to play with a member he knows there in Georgia. How fortunate can one crazy golfer be?!
Rachel started the year in Portland, working two paying jobs and one more as a volunteer. Hector spent the first half of the year in Haiti on loan to the UN from the Chilean Navy. She left her beloved Portland in May, traveled a bunch, gave her mom and dad a good dose of “summer back home”, then moved back to Chile in mid-July. She and Hector are happily settled together in Viña del Mar where she has found much work as a teacher of English and he is back to his naval duties. We are excited that they both will be here for Christmas!
Becky and Jonathan remain in Washington DC, delighting in much that the city has to offer. She teaches preschool and provides one-on-one therapy to children with autism. Jonathan’s most recent project for Google, connecting voters to their elected officials, was published online in November … great work! Thanks to Google business, they were in Seattle in February, so we zipped up there for a weekend together. They traveled to Oregon in July and will be back for Christmas … three times on the West Coast in one year: we are smiling!!
We enjoyed East Coast time too: first in March when we met Becky and Jonathan in Pittsburgh, a destination chosen primarily for its proximity to Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous house, Fallingwater. The snow was not in the plan but we relished all the sights, then drove back to DC for a wonderful visit and glimpses of springtime.
In June we flew with Penny’s mom to Massachusetts for a family wedding/reunion. Rachel and Hector were already in DC visiting Becky and Jonathan. The four of them drove up and met us at the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, Penny’s dad’s childhood home and site of the festivities. We rented a beautiful home for the week, reveled in time together, rekindled family ties with aunts, uncles and cousins, and soaked up island life.
And there was one more trip! While Kevin was playing in a golf tournament in September, Penny and her mom visited Becky and Jonathan. Our nation’s capital is a fascinating city and “Nannie” got to visit every place on her wish list. We savored some terrific meals and took great pleasure just being with our wonderful hosts!
Other highlights this year were hanging out with Penny’s brother Nick and family in Fresno, visiting friends in San Diego and Borrego, niece Kassie’s graduation from Oregon State, niece Holly’s Master’s Degree in Pediatric Nursing from the University of Denver, a visit from long-ago exchange student Francine, dinner with college friend Maura and always . . . the daily blessings of living in the same town with Penny’s mom and all of Kevin’s family.
As we look forward to having all our “kids” with us, we wish you what we are feeling: joy and gratitude!
Penny and Kevin
