Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
As always we treasure this season of music and hope in the midst of family and friends.
It’s been a wonderful year in spite of some low points: Like Mim needing hip replacement surgery during January and then experiencing neuropathy in her legs in the aftermath. Like Tom needing shoulder surgery in May which turned loose lingering shingles viruses dormant since childhood chicken pox and kept him from swinging a golf club the rest of the year. Like experiencing the descent of America into a political season that brought out the worst in our leaders.
Because of our physical therapy needs we have become active participants at North Pointe, a health and fitness facility nearby. We exercise “wet” in the pools or “dry” on the machines and track. It’s become a new playground for us. Because of these same needs we didn’t get to our cabin on Lake Superior for the first time until mid-July, but then we went back and forth a lot through October. We are still hooked on that place in spite of the rising lake level that diminishes our beach.
Being with our daughter Rachel and her family – David, Jack, and Will – tops our list of joys. We visit them in Wheaton usually when one of the boys is performing or participating in school activities. These days Will plays the string bass and participates in cross country when he’s not taking care of the newest members of the family: a chameleon “Ralph” and a silver lab canine “Remmy. “ Jack is deeply into soccer, everything academic, and has gone back to piano lessons. Rachel and David thrive in their jobs and provide a stimulating, loving home for the boys and quadrupeds.
Both of us are busy every day via volunteer, cultural, or education activities where we meet dynamic newcomers who have been attracted to what Beloit offers in its continuing business and cultural renaissance. We carry on with a hope that things will get better for all people, but we worry about the fear, divisiveness, and coarseness that has become the national norm.
It’s been a wonderful year because life is wonderful and people are good, for the most part.
Love,
Mim & Tom
P. S. You can check out some of Tom’s misadventures via thomasfranklinwarren.com
