2014

Happy New Year!  Once again, the torrid pace of South Carolina “retirement” has us a little behind the calendar.  This will reach you past Christmas 2014, but before the holiday decorations are put away.

It has been a good year.  As you might remember, just before Christmas last year I badly fractured my ankle in three places.

 It was two months before I was out of a cast and allowed any attempt at weight bearing - and one more month of water therapy to learn to walk again.  By April (and more physical therapy) I felt ready to returned to work at the theater … and a full two months later before I REALLY was able to return to something like normal activity.  I might be prone to breaking, but I do otherwise enjoy very good health.   I’m very grateful for that and came to understand that sometimes the most humbling things can also become the most empowering.

As mentioned, I was very anxious to return to my job at the Blumenthal Arts Center.  Charlotte hosts a world class symphony and a nationally recognized ballet company.  We enjoy most of the Tony award winning Broadway shows on their initial tours and a full spectrum of musical offerings. I saw the Nutcracker a dozen times this season, but never tired of  the “specialness” of this performance and what it represents for families at Christmas time.  I’ve  I continue to teach CPR regularly, and also picked up a new course at York Technical College.  I’ve been teaching “Medical Terminology”  and happily have been able to use a large parts of my old EMS presentations.  It’s been good to be in the classroom again!  Of course, Charles continues to teach full-time over at Charlotte Catholic High School.   This year he developed a new Scripture course for the seniors and did some analytical work for the school to prepare for its upcoming re-accreditation.   Most days he can enjoy an hour’s walk to the lake to “re-set” among the many birds, deer and turtles. Our notion of retirement may not work for everyone, but it seems to work for us.

Once I was able to travel again, I scheduled trips to see Kate, George and their kids as well as Jess and Shane.  Charles and I  went together to spend Easter with Erin, Jake and their kids. - There were other trips to both Kentucky and Colorado to see my daughters and grand kids.  I managed a trip back to Rochester to catch up with a few friends and see our cousin Kaitlin Schnieder graduate from Ithaca.  My niece Sarah Guess also graduated this year and both young women have bright futures ahead of them.  Our summers are free, and we get to spend a significant amount of time with family and friends.  Katie and George stayed with us for a few weeks this summer while the kids learned to swim, collected tadpoles, and enjoyed Camp Grandma & Grandpa along with their cousins.

This year we also enjoyed a McParland family reunion near Washington, DC at the wedding of Charles’ nephew Ben Aiken.  All four of our daughters were there with their husbands and children.  It was the first time in many years that all of Charles’ siblings had been together as well.

 

Later in the summer, Meg, Jason and their boys invited us to spend a marvelous week on Daufuskie Island doing absolutely nothing. We read.  We walked on the beach.

 We swam.  We watched hatchling turtles struggle to reach the sea and even tossed a small beached shark back into the waves.  Lovely.  This fall we flew out to Notre Dame for Charles’ seminary reunion.  Later Charles and Meghan took Nathan and McKenzie to a football game at Notre Dame.  We had several friends visit including my good friend Sister Jane and my buddy Karen Kasprezak.  

Among other adventures, Karen and I  took a Segway tour of Charlotte and would do it again!

It was a busy year.

We end the year in continued good health.  There are some difficult challenges ahead.  My father is now fighting stage 4 colon cancer.  He’s had surgery and began chemo this week.  George and Shane will both likely have new positions when we write next year. Jess and Shane have made a place for themselves in Lexington, KY, but Katie and George are expecting a move to points unknown.  Change is good, but the uncertainty is bit stressful.

Thank you to all who have sent cards and notes these past few weeks.

We wish you all a most Happy New Year filled with many blessings and a few surprises - nothing too challenging, but enough to keep things interesting.  Hopefully that includes a visit to Tega Cay, we love catching up with old friends.

 Kathy McParland