On This Date in 1998

Dear Tom and Mim,

We were so pleased that you could make it to our Bastille Day party in July. It’s an annual event, so you might want to keep an open space on your calendar for July 10th and 17th. We haven’t picked a date yet, but I would lean toward the 17th since it gives people a breather from the Fourth of July holiday.

Speaking of which, from the note enclosed in Don and Carolyn’s Christmas cards, it appears there’s a Nelson family reunion in the works. No details were provided. It sounds like a great idea, and I hope we’ll be able to help to get it off the ground. Friends of ours, who live just a couple blocks from Warner Park in Madison, always host a party on the day of the Rhythm and Booms fireworks display. We eat, play bocce ball, play cards, eat some more, watch the spectacular show from their front yard – and then spend two hours in traffic. But we don’t have to do that every year.

The four of us will be spending the second week of Christmas break in Warren. In order to make things easier on Mom, we’ll stay at Larry and Kim’s cabin – their retirement home actually. It’s located about 5 miles north of Warren in a beautifully secluded setting. Earlier this year, the kitchen nook was transformed into a bedroom for Dad. He became too unsteady trying to go up and down the stairs. Especially during the past two years, Parkinson’s has taken a particularly heavy toll on his physical and mental well-being. I’m so thankful that Mom still has her health and good spirits. You’ve never guess it to look at her, but she turned 78 in October. \

Let’s target the end of March as a deadline for when we get together and go out to dinner. We talked about this with Carolyn and Jim this summer, and I hate to have us let this opportunity slip by. It’s so easy, though, for us to get focused on what’s going on in our immediate lives.