We don't have a lot of news on our part but life does continue to
evolve. The biggest change for me is that I quit my job last September.
I
had been growing more and more discontented with the direction and the
priorities that new management had taken in the organization. Then 9/11
happened and as I was making my way home that day, with the Pentagon and
New
York in flames, I realized I wasn't going to spend one more day doing
anything that didn't add value. The next day I quit. I know most of us
took time to reflect on our lives, how fortunate we are to be able to have
those choices when most of the world struggles each day just to feed their
families. Soon after I quit my mother became ill and I was so grateful to
have the luxury of free time to spend with her. She passed away on February
2 at the age of 92, As much as I miss her I feel so fortunate to have been
with her the last few weeks of her life. All of her grandchildren came to
see her in her last few weeks and I was with her as she died. She spent
her life teaching and her last lesson for me was how to leave this life
with
dignity and grace. How lucky I am. I manage to keep myself busy these days
with some consulting... lots of opportunities in the health care field.
I am
also continuing my work on a masters program, and staying in touch with
my
wondering children. One daughter in Kawaii, one in Honduras and another
in
Belize waiting for her Peace Corps assignment for this summer. My son
remains in San Francisco but just passed through DC as part of "Scratch
Concert Tour", for which he does the visual effects. Even got me out
to one
of the DC clubs at 2 AM...it was quite the scene, I think some people are
still wondering what that old women was doing there! Dan still works with
the agricultural development program and has made lots of trips to Albania,
Kosovo and many of the "stans". An amazing part of the world.
One of our
best trips in the past year was to see Ken and Anne in Paris....it was so
good to see them and they showed us the best of France. It was a trip we
will long remember thanks to them. We are thinking of moving away from DC
but not for a few years yet so the door is always open and we would love
to
have company! Peace, Carolyn