Pressure and Relief

Jolyn has had a stressful year (as you might imagine). Her selfless service to others has been a blessing to many at church, work and at home. On a global scale, difficult situations abound with wars, natural disasters, etc. Closer to home, we’ve been affected by loss, conflict and relational disasters. The opportunity to help out takes its toll so we are grateful for family time: celebrating Herc’s 75th on the coast, a week in Whislter (just us) and simply relaxing at home with a fire in the stove.

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Melikalikimaka II

We ended 2008 with a wonderful gathering of Jolyn's entire family on the Big Island of Hawaii. Prior to celebrating Christmas in paradise with a wacky gift exchange (nice girly scarf, Brendan), we endured the Pacific NW's record-breaking Snowpacolypse or Snowmaggedon, (as described by the press), along with canceled flights and horrendous driving conditions to Portland. But we all (15 of us) finally made it and delighted in just being together in that beautiful, warm place!

Sailing in the Nude?

In May, Mike sailed in the NOOD (not nude, however) for the first time. Oh, that's the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design. The Seattle event provided three days of racing in Puget Sound for over 200 boats in 24 classes. Whew! In addition, the Santana 20 Class Championships were hosted by the Eugene Yacht Club over the summer. The Santanarama 2008 was great week of fun and competitive racing. Mike's frightful-looking boat finished 6 th out of 39. Apparently, ugly is fast. On a smaller scale, but no less enjoyable, Mike loves racing our 14' Lido with Trevor. They make a pretty good team and managed to take 2 nd and 3 rd place in the Summer and Fall Wednesday Night Series respectively. Trevor was recognized as the “Junior All-Star” in the Lido fleet . After Trevor masters the Zuma, Mike hopes he's ready to take the helm on the Lido.

Summer Travel

It felt a bit like Planes, Trains and Automobiles in July as the family flew to Detroit, rented a car and drove to Ithaca. It was great to spend a week with Mike’s sister Merri. They are doing well and the kids are growing out of hockey equipment before you can say, “Keep your stick on the ice.” Mike’s mom struggles with dementia so visits were short but frequent. Celebrating the 4th in Fair Haven with family and friends was fantastic even if it wasn’t beach weather. Other leg 1 highlights included a Cornell campus tour, a Borg Warner tour with John (Thank you!), a quick trip to Baldwinsville to visit more family (Hi, Sharon and Phil) and a stop at Niagara Falls on the way back to Detroit! Leg 2 was spent in Michigan with Jolyn’s sister Rhonda and family. It was good to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company. Rhonda was in the middle of treatment for breast cancer so no adventurous plan. The cousins spent lots of time together at the pool (it was HOT... hottest July EVE...

Merrifield Times

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