Twelve weddings and a funeral... Not the name of a movie, but events of the
past year.
January began with a wonderful blessing. Granddaughter Grace Ella was born
to Jon and Kendall. What a sweetheart who's perky personality shows itself more
every day, particularly when she’s crawling after Micah to explore whatever
he’s doing. This surprisingly patient three year old also spent more
time with me this year, while mom took Grace to Stroller Strides to get back
into shape (not Grace – Kendall!). We had great fun since Micah gets such a
kick out of using his flashlight to hunt for our cat, Riley, under my bed or
helping me take Charlie out back to make the poops. I’m such a creative baby
sitter.
Speaking of Charlie, our malti-poo. I finally succumbed
to adopting a pet from the Metro Animal Services Shelter where I volunteer to
take photos for their website on a regular basis. Charlie grabbed my
heartstrings from the get go. Our ten-year old adoptee came to us with a
ravenous appetite, medical issues and the mental capacity of a newborn, perhaps
less. But he is a lover – of a particular stuffed monkey and a green
sausage-shaped squeaky toy. His one saving grace: he tolerates the cats (we now
have two – Metro Animal Shelter struck again!) and loves to lay with me on the
couch when I’m watching TV. That’s enough to keep him in my good graces.
January through April found me at the Puyallup
Senior Center on Friday afternoons teaching Memoir Writing. In my case, since I
haven’t had time to write mine (I still have every good intention), I’m
teaching it. Isn’t that the way the saying goes, “If you can’t do it, you teach
it.”
In the spring, long time neighbors, Dick and Betty,
moved from next door to a retirement community on South Hill. But the good news
is that our new neighbors were meant to have their home. Jim and Trish and
family are a real blessing. They love animals, cross fence conversation and
getting to know all their neighbors. Since our “neighborhood” consists of very
few houses (three close together and a couple across the street and around the
corner), having people nearby who are neighborly couldn't be better.
Springtime was also time for a great road trip to
Lake Chelan with my friends Janine and Susan. If you want to walk off a few
pounds, go visit J9 in Manson. She’ll show you how it’s done walking her dog,
Hank, (now dogs, since they adopted a new pup, Kate) two to three miles a day.
Of course, we balanced the exercise with lots of good food and winery visits.
My 50th class reunion in June found Scott
and me in Pasco, Washington visiting with classmates. The way Scott fits right
in had some thinking he must have graduated with us too. He managed to lead our
table group in karaoke singing and encouraged others to get up and give it a go
too! It was wonderful to spend a little time with my younger brother Jim (who
is now a senior citizen – how the heck did that happen!) and his wife, Cindy.
Chris Lynch, one of the volunteers at the shelter,
and I also started work on creating a Friends At Your Metro Animal Shelter
(FAYMAS) non-profit. The paperwork is all filed; we’re incorporated with the
State of Washington and just waiting for our IRS tax-exempt status to be
determined. Stay tuned in 2014 for more information about how the organization
plans to help animals at the shelter.
The two women’s organizations to which I belong also
kept me busy. I was elected Treasurer of my P.E.O group which raises money for
women’s education. Women in Transition (WIT) which a couple of us started three
years ago, is still meeting once a month on Friday’s for breakfast at Charlie’s
Restaurant in downtown Puyallup. This is a fun, informal group meeting to share
life’s adventures and figure out how we can support each other in a positive
way. No dues, no obligations – just show up.
Grandson Ben turned three in September; his dad,
Ron, gave us all a scare in the fall with his medical issues, step-grandson
Ryan moved in with Courtney and Ron. Step-granddaughter Marissa and her baby,
Aiden, were here for a few weeks and granddaughter, Karina, spent ten days with
us before and during Christmas. She had also been with us in August and we’re
looking forward to seeing her again in May!
Earlier I mentioned two cats… Yes, I succumbed again
after fostering a sick kitten, and Tot (named by Scott) is now a member of our
family too. He pesters Riley to no end, the Siamese we inherited from Ron and
Courtney, and provides endless laughs with his antics. He would have been great
friends with Bella, who enjoyed playing with him too, but unfortunately the one
funeral I mentioned was Bella’s, our beloved lab/greyhound dog. Her 11 years
finally got the best of her and we lost her just after Thanksgiving.
I also mentioned 12 weddings, the number of wedding
gigs I had this year. I did have help from good friend Shelly Luthi, but it was
quite the adventure. At last count, I had 104 clients this year, including the
wedding shoots. And I ended the year by taking photos of someone with a last
name starting with “Z.” Isn’t that fitting :-)
Last, but not least…
The biggest highlight of all was being able to give Scott his published book, The Last Apocalypse, a manuscript he
wrote almost thirty years ago. With the help of friends and family: Jacqueline
Martens, John Budz and Vee Sawyer, and Michael Hutton, we were able to pull it
off without him knowing about it ahead of time. It was a great Christmas Eve
surprise.
Needless to say, it was
a busy and blessed year. I’m eager to see what 2014 brings and certainly give
thanks for what we have and pray for continued blessings for my family and
yours.
The memoir writing classes I taught between January and May were exceptional. I've been privileged to meet interesting women with histories rich and varied. Although not just a class for women, it seems women are more interested in preserving their lives in memoir than men are - or at least that's been my experience in the last three years of teaching at the Puyallup Senior Center. One woman in particular is certainly worth mentioning. She turns on her writing instrument like a faucet and out flows remarkable stories of her past accompanied by words of wisdom and descriptions so sumptuous you can taste them. Jacquie is also an animal lover and because of that - we have a lot in common. We've also become friends.
I was off with camera in hand to shoot weddings, families, high school seniors and a few boudoir sessions. It is a passion that enables me to be in the moment, concentrating on each person, looking for a nuance that speaks to their personality and hopefully recording something memorable in the process. I must admit, I enjoy looking back at the photos I've taken because I can relive the memories we created together and I often marvel at what I was able to capture. 
Photography also introduced me to the Metro Animal Shelter where I've taken photos almost weekly for two and a half years of pets that are up for adoption. Of course that's resulted in adoptions of my own. Dog Charlie and cat Tot now lead the life - not of Riley, but with Riley, a cat we already adopted from my daughter, Courtney and family. And becoming involved with the shelter led to the creation of a non-profit, FAYMAS - Friends At Your Metro Animal Shelter. Chris Lynch and I started the paperwork in the fall of 2013 and this summer were granted the non-profit status by the IRS. Now we're scrambling to set up the organization. We have a board of five - all incredible women: Roxanne Pollard is our secretary, Jennifer Waalkes our treasurer, and Trudi Bocott our public relations director.
My family does get some of my time, probably not as much as they should. Scott's health remains an issue, but his recording studio is making progress and should be back in operation soon thanks to his son, Steve, and his engineer, Jimmy. Courtney and Ron have experienced ups and downs with Ron's health again this year, but they always have time for Ben, who turned four years old in September. How did that happen! Kendall and her family are off on a new adventure, selling their home and moving to a new community, Tehaleh. Micah will be four years old soon and Gracie, sweet Gracie is a rambunctious 18 month old. 
