Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! I hope this note finds you happy and healthy this holiday season, and I hope you don’t mind that our card’s are a little late. A lot happened in 2011, and I’ve struggled for the past two weeks or more in trying to figure out how to frame it all. But I guess there’s no way to say it besides just saying it, so here goes…
More than ever, 2011 was a year of love and loss for our family. My mother passed in April this year, and my grandfather followed her in August, leaving me alone save for Sally and the girls. It’s been a disorienting experience. These last few years had been tough for my mother, and though I know she’d overcome a lot, I also know that the last year especially was worse than ever. I miss my mother, but I can honestly say that I’m glad that she’s finally found the peace that she craved so desperately these past few years. My grandfather’s passing was more sudden, especially given that I’d spent so much time at his house lately because of my mother’s long illnesses and frequent hospitalizations. But Pa Pa Dan lived a tremendously full life in his 87 years, and I know that he would be the first to say it. Still, I miss him. He was oftentimes the touchstone in my life, the only constant thing in a world that for me was constantly changing. If you’ve ever been in a military family, you’ll know what that’s worth. Still, I wouldn’t call 2011 a bad year. Not at all. True, we grieved. But we also lived, and I think we lived well. Sally and I ran a 10K, a pair of triathlons, and a half-marathon together. We took the kids on vacation to Maine’s Acadia National Park and bought season passes to Six Flags. We watched Hannah sing in front of an audience for the first time at her school’s talent show—and watched as she brought the house down! We did swimming lessons and school assignments, work-stuff and play-stuff… all the things that go into making a life. For me, I lost myself in triathlon when I had to and let myself grow as a father and as an engineer when I had the opportunity. It helps to have a wife who’s an athlete in her own right, who understands that sometimes there’s no better therapy than a few hours spent on a bicycle.
Of course, Sally and the kids had plenty going on, too. Sally worked at our church, worked with developmentally delayed children in inner-city Bridgeport and New Haven, and taught art through Stratford’s recreation department and our town’s library. She also continued on as the leader of Hannah’s Girl Scout troop, served on the town’s literacy council and with the PTA, and volunteered occasionally at the school. Heck, Sally got so busy that at times I’m not sure if she knew whether she was coming or going. Hannah and Emma, meanwhile, took swimming lessons and gymnastics, read dozens of books apiece, and sang and danced their hearts out. For Hannah, 3rd Grade has meant a move to a new school, a lot of new friends, and some exciting new opportunities. For Emma, being in 1st Grade has meant her first year of full-day school, continuing in Daisy Girl Scouts, and a real awakening to her own interests and friendships outside of our immediate family.
As 2011 comes to a close, I find myself looking back to remember the family that I’ve lost but also looking forward in anticipation of what comes next. 2012 is going to be a great year, and I look forward to spending it with my family and with you.
Love,
Dan, Sally, Hannah, & Emma
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