If the only prayer you ever say in life is thank you, it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart
Writing this after a lovely Thanksgiving at Black Butte Ranch, we are reminded that whatever our daily circumstances, we have much for which to give thanks.
Thank you for Rachel, too far away to come home for Thanksgiving.
A Spanish major, Rachel is living with a family and attending university in Valparaiso, Chile. Besides her classes and becoming fluent in Spanish, her travels are an education in themselves. Chile is a country of vast contrasts. From the world’s driest desert in the north to the southern glaciers that peek at Antarctica, she has biked, hiked, canoed and explored. Of course, it doesn’t hurt her feelings that she makes her home by the ocean and beach weather has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere!
Thank you for Becky and Jonathan, who celebrated Thanksgiving close to home in Washington, DC
HOME is the operative word because they bought a house this year! It is a wonderful 1906 row house right in the city. With high ceilings, wood floors and a basement apartment they can rent, it is just what they wanted. Kevin and Penny got to provide a little cleaning and painting help soon after the July move. That visit and one Becky and Jonathan made to Oregon in June were our two face-to-face times since January. But we communicate plenty via the phone and the internet. The biggest phone call came in April when they announced their engagement! A Virginia wedding is being planned for next August. Exciting times!!
Thank you for love and joy in Kevin and Penny’s lives.
Penny still loves teaching children. February saw her in Las Vegas for a reunion with sorority sisters from Whittier College: so much fun!! Kevin still keeps our church finances in good order and coaches high school boys’ golf. A particular joy this year was the realization of a long-time goal: becoming only the third golfer in the 80-year history of the Southern Oregon Golf Championship to claim the champion’s title in all three divisions: Regular Men’s, Junior-Senior Men’s and, this year, Senior Men’s. Too bad it came with the knowledge that in some quarters we are now seniors!!
Thank you for family and friends.
Special times this year included the high school graduations of niece Kassie Adolph here in Medford and nephew Danny Howes in Fresno. Great fun was had painting Penny’s mom’s Black Butte house with Kelly and Brian! We bid farewell to two of Kevin’s uncles this year: Uncle Al Beardsley and Uncle Ted Mortensen. We can still hear their laughter; may they rest in peace. In October, Penny’s mom made a covenant of love and commitment with Larry Starr, a kind and gentle man we are happy to now call family. Most recently, we recall the fun and happy Thanksgiving we spent with all of Kevin’s family. That loving circle warmed our hearts even as we missed our own kids.
Thank you that soon the five of us will be together again!
A South American Christmas is in our near future! Becky and Rachel will have a week of sister time traveling from Chile to Peru. Jonathan, Kevin and Penny will meet up with them in Lima and see some of the Peruvian sights, including the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu! Our second week will be spent in Rachel’s present hometown of Viña del Mar. We will have time for the beach, the golf course, wine tasting and the biggest New Year’s Eve fireworks show in South America. Woo Hoo! Mostly, we will be together!!
Wishing you a holiday and new year of thankfulness,
Penny, Kevin and our far-flung kids!
