2022
Merry Christmas to Friends and Family Everywhere!
It is always fun to reflect on the year that is passing. Why
we ever expect the coming year to unfold according to plan is a mystery. Thankfully,
we are both in good health and enjoying the roller-coaster ride. May you all
have a wonderful holiday season and happiness in the new year.
You might remember that Meg, Jason, and Morgan had moved in
with us late last year while their new home was under construction in
Lincolnton, NC. We already had Nate living with us while he finished up high
school. Meg and Jason closed on
their new home in February. Nate graduated from Fort Mill HS in late May and
headed off to Catawba College this past August. Thanks to COVID, Nate’s senior
year at Fort Mill was really the first experience of “in-person” high school
here in the US. Outside the classroom, Nate pursued an interest in music with guitar,
keyboard, and singing lessons. Nate worked the lighting and sound crew for Mama
Mia, experienced “prom night”, and survived an actual paying job at Wendy’s. To
celebrate high school graduation, Nate flew to Scotland in July and spent time
with friends. It was fun for us to share those experiences and to help Nate explore
his college options. Now, we once again have
an “empty nest”, and our guest rooms are available for friends and family who
might be visiting the Charlotte area.
We found multiple opportunities to travel throughout the
year. In February we spent a little time in nearby Charleston, SC with Charles’
sister Susan who was visiting her son Jeremy and his wife Stephanie. We were able
see some of Jeremy’s latest paintings and to enjoy a marvelous dinner together.
Kathy then flew to Boulder, CO to celebrate granddaughter Maya’s 11th
birthday and to see the progress our daughter Erin was making in renovating her
new home. Charles got to checkout Erin’s carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and
painting skills when we both visited in late August. That trip gave Charles a chance to visit
grandson Xander’s Ju jitsu training class and to see his rather amazing skill.
Our daughter Jess just happened to be in the Boulder area
that same week, and we were able to meet her for lunch with Erin. Jess continues to work as the Director of
Operational Excellence for WestRock in Winston-Salem. She’s also working towards
her MBA through Emory University. Husband Shane works as an analyst for TNTP. Jess and Shane traveled to Spain this year and
Shane later made a visit to Cuba.
We enjoy trips with our
Notre Dame friends of 50 years. Eight couples made the trip into Las Vegas in
October this year for the “Catholics versus Mormons in Sin City” ND football
game against BYU. We spent time exploring paleolithic rock etchings in the
Painted Desert. We lifted a few pints in an Irish pub and ate very well. There
might also have been a little gambling.
2022 was the year that Charles got serious about golf. Who
knew that you could lose almost as many golf balls per round as there are holes
on the course. The turtles dive quickly when he tees off over a water hazard,
and the deer gather to laugh at him when he plays the tree lined fairways here
in Tega Cay. His old college friends are trying to help him with his game; they
even purchased a new driver for him to see if that would help. The guys played
together this year in Myrtle Beach and Lake of the Ozarks. Notre Dame’s game
against Cal this fall was an excuse for more golf in Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri.
His game might not be getting any better, but at least he’s having fun.
Coordinating our visits with grandchildren with their school
and social schedules is becoming more and more challenging. Erin brought Xander
and Maya to South Carolina in March to spend a little time with their cousin
Morgan. The kids had such a good time at the National Whitewater Center that
Erin and Meghan enrolled the boys in a week-long camp in June. Katie’s kids had their spring break a few
weeks later; so, in April we drove up to Virginia Beach with Meg for a few
crazy days of ocean fun with the Kaufmans. Ella quickly proved expert in
capturing crabs skittering about the sand. Morgan organized Dungeons and
Dragons and various board games. A highlight of the trip was a visit to the
excellent aquarium where we were mesmerized by sea turtles, sharks, and a
couple of Komodo dragons. Kate, Ella,
and Jacob were able to take the Corning shuttle flight down to Charlotte in
August. Kate and Jacob returned to
Corning a few days later leaving Ella to enjoy some extra time with us. Grandpa
and Ella spent many hours fishing together. We swam, kayaked, and enjoyed some
special time with our now 13-year-old granddaughter.
Kathy continues to work part-time for the Blumenthal
Theaters in nearby Charlotte. As always, we’ve experienced some wonderful
musical and theatrical presentations this year. We enjoyed “Ain't Too Proud
- The Life and Times of The Temptations”, the Charlotte Ballet’s “Innovative
Works”, “Squawks”, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Mean Girls”, “Hadestown”, “Jagged
little Pill”, and “Tina the Musical”. We celebrated our 49th wedding
anniversary this May with a few days at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. We
especially enjoyed a spectacular new opera “Omar” featuring the autobiography
of an enslaved African written in Arabic. The Dock Street Theater’s
presentations of chamber music with Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman was so
amazing that we went back a second time.
We followed up Spoleto with a brief “cruise to nowhere” out
of Charleston’s harbor. The ship sailed down into the Mexican Riviera, but we
were aboard simply to enjoy sun, ocean breezes, and quiet time together. There
are always a few surprises in traveling. Charles came down with Covid near the
end of the cruise and we spent our “quiet time” quarantined in our state room. Departure
from the ship proved interesting. Once all other passengers were off-loaded, we
were escorted down the gangplank by security and let out through a normally
locked gate directly to the parking lot. We are not quite certain whether we
are even legally in the country since we did not go through the normal customs
and immigration checks.
Our daughters all came together in October to celebrate
Kathy’s 70th birthday with a girls-only weekend near Staunton, VA. Charles went golfing with Jason.
Our health is remarkably good. We both did suffered from
mild cases of Covid but at different times.
Kathy had successful cataract surgery late this year, but we’ve avoided
anything major. Charles still walks to Lake Wylie most days and plays golf
regularly. Kathy does her aerobic exercises in the pool as well as doing yoga at
the YMCA. We both swim throughout the summer and kayak when we can find time.
Both of us enjoy active part-time employment, Kathy at the Blumenthal Theaters
and Charles at the local Catholic high school. For Kathy there is bridge and Mahjong a couple
times each week. For Charles there is always some new HOA issue or one of the
grandchildren’s algebra problems to challenge him. It is a good life.