Dear Friends,
Needless to say, this has been an eventful year! For Asia with tsunami and earthquake. For the northeast with unnamed floods and the southeast with damage from Katrina, Rita and Wilma. With bombings and deaths continuing into the thousands in the Middle East, it is a difficult to think of peace on earth. And yet, we still express that hope and desire. Perhaps next year will be different.
In one major way the coming months will bring us a significant change. This is, in fact, the reason why you are receiving this annual message somewhat earlier, we hope, than in previous years. We have sold our house, as of last June, and are in the process of settling into a “retirement” community: Eagle’s Trace, an Erickson community, the first in Texas. Our new mailing address is: 102 Pecan Grove, Apt. 410; Houston, TX 77077.
Pat finally got tired of yard work: planting, weeding and feeding flowers. Karen had enough of feeding both of us; the complex includes one meal a day as part of the monthly fees (usually dinner.) Our own apartment has a bedroom, two studies, living room, kitchen and two bathrooms. The adjoining building houses two dining rooms, pool, fitness room, class rooms, work shops, convenience store, postoffice, bank, lounges and 24-hour medical facility. For those of you who are computer minded you can check it out at http://www.ericksoncommunities.com/eth/ So far it’s almost like living in a resort, or being on a continuing vacation.
Our last, actual vacation in April afforded us two weeks in Italy, one based in Sorrento, the other in Montecatini near Florence. Yes, we enjoyed it. (It was also interesting being in Italy when Benedict XVI was elected Pope!) Our other journey this year was to Dallas for a wedding, scheduled for the weekend Rita visited East Texas. We joined with several million other close friends for a 14-hour drive from Houston to Dallas! Fortunately we had no additional hurricane problems directly. The interim apartment where we lived between June and November had its share of evacuees from Louisiana.
The rest of our lives have continued in the same paths begun in previous years. Ken, Tracey and their seven kids (our marvelous grandchildren!) continue with home-schooling. Chris, Kelly and their two daughters (our other marvelous grandchildren!) continue with events in the Klein and Conroe ISDs. Deb and Joe continue with their bookish ways as librarians. Karen and Pat continue with their religious callings at The Cenacle and at Christ the Good Shepherd. Some might say we are all “in a rut.” But this is the way peaceful lives also continue. We have our health and we have sufficient resources to live with personal happiness much of the time (the brief periods for griping are, indeed, brief.)
We recognize our individual blessings, especially at this time of the year. We merely wish that the rest of the world could experience them as well. We sincerely hope that you, too, are feeling blessed by the One whose birth we still celebrate this season.