Introduction
As always a busy and good year.
Year had milestones- graduation, amazing growth spurts for Bruno (6’1 216LB) and William (finally – he is now 6’2” , Samson has moved to third tallest), and enjoyed a whirlwind of activities: skiing, running, basketball, soccer, football, bike rides, a play and walking the Camino de Santiago. Watching Baby Sloane grow has been a special joy, and grandparenting is wonderful. Looking through my thousands of photos for the year there are almost none of my adult children. It is clear where I focus and back to the statement “grandparenting is wonderful”.
Wishing you all a joyful and blessed holiday season and a new year filled with adventure, reflection, and the warmth of family.
The Families
Benj and Jennie, the Olsottis, are doing well. Benj is working as a locum (like a travel nurse) at various hospitals but mostly in Tacoma. He enjoys the work as a pediatric hospitalist but is watching for opportunities to work in informatics (computer systems in medicine). Jennie continues to work with Children’s Village, in pediatric development in Yakima, mostly remote but with occasional trips to Yakima. The boys are thriving in their school with many activities. Thomas coerced the school to have a drama club and it presented a show of improv. Both boys are in the band and both are voracious readers.
Sadie loves her kindergartners and teaching. Peter had a serious skiing accident last spring (fracturedpelvis) and is recovering well. Samson away at Gonzaga is an adjustment but they all talk frequently. Samson is enjoying school and is a member of the club Ultimate Frisbee team. Greta is loving her new bedroom and she waited at least a day before she took over Samson’s bedroom. Greta ran cross country and is now playing basketball at Central Catholic. Elsie is a senior, ran cross country and is active in student council. College plans are progressing; she has early acceptance to several schools with good financial aid. Elsie works very hard and it is being recognized and rewarded.
In Eugene (the Eugenies) are having fun. Peter is the Athletic Director at North Eugene HS. The job seems to hit the sweet spot, involved with students, watching sports, and having fun. He has been known to roller blade in the school hallways. He and Caroline are big time budget shoppers. Tara is middle school science teacher at the parish school. She walked the Camino with the group which was wonderful to spend the time with her. William is at St Mary’s Moraga and enjoying school. He is playing a lot of basketball, on the club volleyball and tennis teams. and I hope the classroom stuff also. Caroline is a junior at Marist HS. She is on swim team and loves the photography she does with the school. She does miss William but does enjoy not sharing a car. She can get in the car and not have to adjust the seat each time. Edward is moving on through life as an 8th grader playing soccer, involved in drama, and on the local HS bowling team which includes middle schoolers (another Herbert convert).
It is wonderful to have Beth and Herbert, the Bardinas, in town. They love to host and both are very good cooks. Beth is making progress on her dissertation but she has so many people in her life it is hard for her not to become distracted. Herbert and I bowl in Senior bowling league and practice at least once a week. He is very good and I have a lot of room for improvement, really a lot of room for improvement.
Sloane’s parents are being very well trained by Sloane. Rob is working in Vancouver but has been very busy, something to do with changing accounting systems and less than productive team members. Jessie works full time in the home and they are expecting number two in January. Sloane is curious, clever, and busy, which makes for a lot of fun and lot of work like when Jessie thought Sloane was in the bedroom behind a gate but ended up standing next to her.
My Story
This year, I’ve also spent more time birding and exploring photography. I joined a birding tour in Costa Rica, took part in local bird walks around Portland, and even managed some birding while visiting old friends in Puerto Rico. I also was able to do some birding in Guatemala while there on a medical mission. I try not to let any of those commitments get in the way of bowling league on Fridays. Herbert is a bad influence but not only on me but also Peter and his boys. In photo gallery note William’s award.
Walking the Camino de Santiago
The Camino with Caroline, Elsie, William, Samson, Tara, Beth and Herber was an amazing experience. Beth and Herbert were our fantastic guides, with the route and lodging all mapped out. Beth is known to take the road less travelled which we called her long cut. One day we climbed over and under logs, trekking through an old olive grove in loose sand. We started in Porto, Portugal then walked along the gorgeous coast for 5 days then went inland and into Spain. The young adults were amazing. They experienced the culture and each researched a town on the route. Some were very willing to experience different cuisines even though some of the foods were not such winners (baby eel seemed like a good choice). Elsie had pizza seven nights in a row. A cold beer at the end of the day after walking in a heat wave was a winner. In Porto, the home of Port wine we we experience port wine and cacao tasting.
William bounced a tennis ball all 160 miles but the bounce off cobblestones is not predictable. He got it out of the stinging nettles with little discomfort, the bounce back towards him a bit more discomfort, fortunately for him none of us laughed, at least not too hard, as he was bend over recovering.
We visited many churches, from grand cathedrals to small chapels along the pilgrimage route, which is not surprising travelling with Beth. The churches were amazing and many of the churches had museums and accessible bell towers. The final day of the Camino, coming into Santiago de Compostela, is an amazing experience and a sense of accomplishment, The Basilica is beautiful and the Pilgrims’ Mass with the large incense swinging over the congregation does not have words with which to describe.
The last two days in Madrid we visited; the Museum del Prado, Reina Sofia Museum (modern art), National Archaeological Museum, Real Madrid Stadium, the Madrid Cathedral, and the Palace Gardens, A lot of culture for me to absorb in 2 days.
A pilgrimage is a time to contemplate and to understand more of who and what you are about. The message that I heard during this journey is that I am aging. When someone on the bus offered me their seat out of respect for the wisdom and experience of having a lot of birthdays, I accepted. It’s a small gesture, but if one accepts that they are aging then why not.