Well, the pier is in and I have my
little zinnia seedlings started, so it must be time to get the
Christmas letter out.
We have some good news:
THIS LETTER IS ALL GOOD NEWS! No serious
health problems (aside froma couple of skiing boo-boos) since Tag's brain attack in April '97, the three married kids (Patrick, Kevin and Timothy)
are all doing well with their growing families and the two available sons (Daniel and Michael) are
doing well in their chosen fields and having fun and exciting lives. So if you want to quit now and just look at
pictures, that's OK...however, if you want a few sketchy details, r may as well march down the rank and file of
our 5 aging chips off the old block:
Patrick, Debbie and their 4...Lee
13, Grant 10,and Lucy and Katie 5, moved from Houston to Austin, TX in
March '02. Debbie is a
partner in a group
of anesthesiologists that serves the Austin hospitals and clinics.
Patrick is incommercial real estate consulting for Price Waterhouse Coopers, and works from his home office. We visited
them for Patrick's 40th birthday (He's now older than we are!), and had a WONDERFUL time seeing their new
home and playing with the kids. (The kids are amazing and really should have a separate letter about THEIR
lives!) Tag and I had our first experience with a "razor" scooter! What a rush!...especially on the big hills!
Kevin, Amy, Jack, 2t and Molly, 8 mo. moved to Rochester, N.Y. It years ago. They were both with GE-Medical
until Kevin received a great offer from Kodak which prompted the move. He's now in charge of the digital x-ray
business with Kodak Medical. Amy is a rep for GE's mammography products, so she is working part time from
her home office. Jack and Molly are two precious, happy kids and are loved by the whole neighborhood! Here
is a classic example of mixed feelings...we're glad that they're doing so well, but hate the fact that they're
gone! But we go to see them often and that helps...plus they visit us for alternate holidays, and we love having
them right here with us when they're home!
Timothy, Jill and Audrey (now 5)
moved from N.Y. to L.A. in '00. Since then, Timothy left Spin City ,(a
year
before it was dropped)
and has been
writing for Scrubs, a Tues. night offering on NBC. It's a comedy aboutinterns, which as I remember back to my child-delivering days, were pretty funny. Also since then, Tim and Jill
have had several productions of their own...Charlie, now 2t, and most recently, Malcolm (Mac) and Ella, 8 mo..
Has Jill had time (and sanity) to be creative? (aside from joining Tim in creating new children)? Oh YES! A
year ago Oct., Jill and a friend wrote and starred in a musical production ("Two Broads and a Band") about a
couple of 30-something women trying to sort out their priorities! Tag, Aunt Helen, my sister Rosanne and I
went out to see it and just loved it! These days they're just trying to keep their heads above water as they deal
..with their own personal population expiosion!
Saniel moved to LA in Sept. of '01.
The baby of the first four is now almost 34!! He's working for a
computer
company, Cyberspace Hq.,
doing
business to business software development and describes himself as the
CVO(chief visionary officer). I'd believe that! He enjoys his job and the people he works with, as well as his
avocation... risking his life playing ice hockey! He, Timothy and Michael also play basketball once a week so are
managing to keep all their parts moving while having some male-bonding time. Daniel's social life is humming
these days life is good in LA! Besides that, he's getting lots of "Uncle" time with the kids.
Michael is his normal borderline
crazy self! He's a junior in the film school at USC. After applying for
the
cinema program and being
rejected twice, he decided to keep trying until he made it or died of
old age. The
next application was no-holds-barred vintage Michael, and he received his acceptance letter a few months later.
We were all psyched...until the tuition bill arrived! Good-bye retirement! While waiting for USC to decide they
wanted him, Michael and his friend, Sam Jaeger wrote and produced a short film, .Advantage Hart". It's funny
(of course) and most entertaining. They raised about $50,000 to complete the project and then submitted it to
several film festivals. They were thrilled to get into the Hollywood Film Festival. That event last Oct. meshed
with a trip to see the twins, so we had an all around exciting time! Michael is loving his school experience;
"creative" would be a sum-up word! Spare time is spent taming lions and tigers and bears (Oh, My!) at Tim and
Jill's. Life is NEVER dull! This summer, Michael will be in charge of the video program at Windy Gap, a Young
Life camp in Asheville, N.C. Tag and I will be there for a week with our Lake Country YL group. WHEE!
next application was no-holds-barred vintage Michael, and he received his acceptance letter a few months later.
We were all psyched...until the tuition bill arrived! Good-bye retirement! While waiting for USC to decide they
wanted him, Michael and his friend, Sam Jaeger wrote and produced a short film, .Advantage Hart". It's funny
(of course) and most entertaining. They raised about $50,000 to complete the project and then submitted it to
several film festivals. They were thrilled to get into the Hollywood Film Festival. That event last Oct. meshed
with a trip to see the twins, so we had an all around exciting time! Michael is loving his school experience;
"creative" would be a sum-up word! Spare time is spent taming lions and tigers and bears (Oh, My!) at Tim and
Jill's. Life is NEVER dull! This summer, Michael will be in charge of the video program at Windy Gap, a Young
Life camp in Asheville, N.C. Tag and I will be there for a week with our Lake Country YL group. WHEE!
Tag and I are doing great! We still
ski every winter, and have a summer goal to water ski more...it's the
potential pain that's
discouraging! My favorite saying is, "No pain NO PAIN!!" Tag is working
about 5-6
hours/day, and is so disciplined about getting exercise and staying in shape. I'm spending lots of time with
Mom, Marshall and Bernie, plus still working on the Young Life committee and helping out with the Amicus
Exchange kids. Life is blooming with blessings...everywhere we look! The attached are zinnia seeds from our
garden, and should be planted in a sunny place. They are my favorite flowers and when you see their colorful
blooms, remember that we're thinking of you! Thanks to you all who have kept in touch despite our news hiatus
of 5 years or so. May God bless you and make your lives bloom with happiness!
hours/day, and is so disciplined about getting exercise and staying in shape. I'm spending lots of time with
Mom, Marshall and Bernie, plus still working on the Young Life committee and helping out with the Amicus
Exchange kids. Life is blooming with blessings...everywhere we look! The attached are zinnia seeds from our
garden, and should be planted in a sunny place. They are my favorite flowers and when you see their colorful
blooms, remember that we're thinking of you! Thanks to you all who have kept in touch despite our news hiatus
of 5 years or so. May God bless you and make your lives bloom with happiness!
