Julie, on the other hand, kidded me about including my annual "Brag Letters," and to be perfectly honest, that's what they really seem to be. It isn't intentional. We simply enjoy a wonderful life, and I'm extremely proud of all of my kids. By the time I recount what has happened in their lives as well as wonderful trips we've taken, there simply isn't room for the trivial problems that we encountered along the way.
Last year, I started a new tradition of NOT sending out a newsletter with Christmas cards, instead posting one online, thereby saving a tree to suck up some CO2. In any case, I still write them for Mom, who I'm sure watches over us even now.
It's again hard to filter down a full year of only the good stuff into a Brag Letter, but with the help of some hotlinks, it can be done more easily online than on paper. I will quickly note the passing of my good friend Bob Ward. He was always a solid friend and fun golf companion. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Starting with the kids, my oldest daughter Gina and her husband Laszlo are expecting a baby next June. They moved to Hudson Heights, and Amy and I were able to see their new neighborhood while on a trip to tour UConn, which she began in the fall.
Both girls continue to shine. After weighing several job offers, Gina decided to stay at Columbia,where she hosted an epidemiology converence for which all her top choices for featured speakers accepted invitations, leading to a smashing success. Gina managed to come visit us in California often for conferences, and she also traveled elsewhere to make presentations, including London. Laszlo continued teaching computer science to middle school kids in Harlem, a challenging but rewarding job. Gina and Laszlo also hosted a great Thanksgiving dinner which Amy attended as part of an extended visit during that break from school, during which they also went to the Broadway musical, "In the Heights". Gina keeps pictures of Broadway musicals she's seen in her office as a reminder of one of her favorite New York attractions. She and Laszlo also love exploring New York on foot, discovering all the great parks.
Amy finished high school with a flourish, winning the English Department Award for her school based on four years of outstanding writing and understanding of literature. She also won Color Guard Performer of the Year and Most Inspirational for Choir. Her high school doesn't allow bonus grade points for taking Advance Placement tests, but she was a small fraction below 4.0 academically for her high school career, earning a gold rope and robe. After a summer that passed too quickly, Amy fell in love with the University of Connecticut, where she has a part time job as editor of her school newspaper in addition to remaining academically excellent and making lots of new friends. Because of all the AP tests and outstanding performance, she earned a partial scholarship and entered with enough completed credits to be considered a sophomore. She surprised us by entering the talent show at UConn with a young man who is a music major and winning with their duet of "Baby It's Cold Outside", just as Coterie, her high school a capella group, won their talent show earlier in the year at Mira Costa High.
Jay is heading into his last semester as a Music Industry Major at California State University, Northridge. He frequently comes to visit us on weekends, and we love to meet him at the Lighthouse to hear live jazz on Sundays. The last year of the program includes internships, and he's been working with a small record label. We enjoyed seeing several of Jay's concerts with the wind ensemble, but we missed an exciting performance with his studio ensemble, under the direction of famed motion picture conductor David Newman.
Jay plays in the Pep Band, a group started by the students last year, at basketball games. He traveled with the pep band to Kansas City for the NCAA Championships, and the CSUN Matadors almost upset number 2 ranked Memphis.
As far as travels go, you can scan this blog, but you'll find that frequently I am writing about trips that happened long ago, which of course gives me the chance to relive them again. The travel highlight of the year without question was a family trip to Northern Europe, and you'll need to read many blog pages to learn about all the highlights of that trip. When we dropped off Amy at UConn, Julie realized we would be too sad to head straight home, so we went to the Caribbean, which proved to make the transition to empty nest easier.
As always, there's much, much more that happened, but you get the idea. There were many highlights despite the occasional negatives, and I thank God for blessing us with another wonderful year. May your life be as wonderful during the New Year as ours has been.
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