Goodbye to 2017!
We survived 2017! It was a year of ups and downs. Perhaps perseverance is the best word to describe it. Did we have fun? Yes! Are we glad the year is over? Absolutely! This year we definitely learned to appreciate different things - many that we have simply taken advantage of before.
It is safe to say that we live in a historic time. Of course every year is historic, but the changes going on now will have future generations looking back at this time as a major turning points. Of course living in such a historic time can be a bit unsettling....especially when you are in the DC area. We have found ourselves having conversations with 11-year old Anna that we may not have otherwise had. Some of our dinner conversation highlights from the year:
Despite all of these heavy topics (the most important being the smart phone), the other lesson of 2017 is the resiliency of people. Life goes on. We enjoyed vacations to the beach and to visit family. We went to basketball games and swim meets. We celebrated the 4th of July with everyone else. Anna's enjoyment of music continued with performances in the Vienna Jammers, joining the church choir, and beginning to play piano at church. Joe enjoyed college courses on everything from economics to history. Theresa re-ignited her loves of reading and music by joining both the neighborhood book club and the adult Vienna Jammers group. Storm greeted us every day with a wagging tail and general eagerness for any type of walk or treat. Somehow, it seems it will all be ok.
Our final reminder from 2017 was how lucky we are to have our family and friends. When Joe found himself unexpectedly in the hospital following a routine procedure, there was no shortage of family and friends checking in to see how they could help. From Aunt Mary providing her nurse hotline assistance, to Grandma and Grandpa offering to come out, to neighbors walking the dog, to friends taking care of Anna....we really appreciated it all. Even more important, we knew that we had an entire other group of friends that didn't even know what was going on that we could have also called if needed. This is truly a blessing.
This year we celebrated the holidays with family and friends. Grandma and Grandpa spent a week for Christmas. We spent New Year's Eve day roller skating (well - Theresa & Anna did) and had our lovely traditional New Year's Eve dinner with our friends Fefzi and Klara and their boy, where we discussed world events and what 2018 will bring. We concluded that we are very fortunate to be able to discuss those views and are looking forward to the new year. One thing is for sure.....it will be interesting.
Happy New Year!
It is safe to say that we live in a historic time. Of course every year is historic, but the changes going on now will have future generations looking back at this time as a major turning points. Of course living in such a historic time can be a bit unsettling....especially when you are in the DC area. We have found ourselves having conversations with 11-year old Anna that we may not have otherwise had. Some of our dinner conversation highlights from the year:
- How did Trump win?
- Why homework is important (ok - we would have had this conversation no matter what)?
- Are terrorist going to attack us?
- Good jobs for kids (aka...Anna you need to earn your own money).
- What did Russia do?
- Why you need to do chores.
- What is sexual harassment and why did all of these men lose their jobs?
- When can I get a smart phone?
Despite all of these heavy topics (the most important being the smart phone), the other lesson of 2017 is the resiliency of people. Life goes on. We enjoyed vacations to the beach and to visit family. We went to basketball games and swim meets. We celebrated the 4th of July with everyone else. Anna's enjoyment of music continued with performances in the Vienna Jammers, joining the church choir, and beginning to play piano at church. Joe enjoyed college courses on everything from economics to history. Theresa re-ignited her loves of reading and music by joining both the neighborhood book club and the adult Vienna Jammers group. Storm greeted us every day with a wagging tail and general eagerness for any type of walk or treat. Somehow, it seems it will all be ok.
Our final reminder from 2017 was how lucky we are to have our family and friends. When Joe found himself unexpectedly in the hospital following a routine procedure, there was no shortage of family and friends checking in to see how they could help. From Aunt Mary providing her nurse hotline assistance, to Grandma and Grandpa offering to come out, to neighbors walking the dog, to friends taking care of Anna....we really appreciated it all. Even more important, we knew that we had an entire other group of friends that didn't even know what was going on that we could have also called if needed. This is truly a blessing.
This year we celebrated the holidays with family and friends. Grandma and Grandpa spent a week for Christmas. We spent New Year's Eve day roller skating (well - Theresa & Anna did) and had our lovely traditional New Year's Eve dinner with our friends Fefzi and Klara and their boy, where we discussed world events and what 2018 will bring. We concluded that we are very fortunate to be able to discuss those views and are looking forward to the new year. One thing is for sure.....it will be interesting.
Happy New Year!
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