A Time for Renewal

This is the time of year that I start getting restless. Even more so this year when I went on the FJ Reitz Class of 67 Cruise to Somewhere a couple of weeks ago. 20 people from Linda's high school class on the RCL Freedom of the Seas. A shocking reminder that there really is warm climate somewhere. Even more shocking on our return home to an uncharacteristically chilly Florida. That combined with a previous short jaunt to St. Augustine in January has really got me started thinking about spring and unwrapping the Winnebago (that qualifies me as an official Hooser) and putting on my traveling shoes again. I am waiting for the renewal that I know is just a few weeks away. I'll know it's here when my Yoshino cherry trees start popping out.

It's also a reminder that I've been remiss in blogging. So much so that there was a post on the blog from Sue Mustaleski Eck about my holiday post that I hadn't even published. Apologies Sue. The impact of your thoughtful response was amplified further when I got an email from Cathy Labazetta Stalter who got an email from her sister in Jersey informing her of the passing of Millie Kneeland Umansky. I sadly posted the changes on the Class Directory website and posted a copy of the obituary there:

(http://www.waynevalley67.net/html/inmemoriam.html).

My heart goes out to the Umansky family for their loss, more keenly felt perhaps by those who have lost loved ones. My first wife passed last month 15 years ago after 24 years together. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed, and that life wasn't over, although it certainly felt that way at the time. I suppose the point is that you never forget the anguish, the loss, but that pain is dulled with time. It pops up in moments of repose and remembrance, but now I have another life upon which to fall back for support. I know I appreciate it more because of my previous loss and the coincidence of Linda's loss of her previous spouse less than a month's difference from mine. That is how we began, with that single concurrence as our bond. That is certainly no longer true now in so many ways and I believe that this beginning in sorrow has allowed us to build a fundamentally stronger marriage because we know what we lost; where we may have fallen short before; and how we are both determined not to suffer the same shortcomings again.

For my part, I am determined to stay in touch. Sometime later this year there will be another mini reunion of the Anthony Wayne 7-3/8-4 homerooms and we are scheduled to visit with my old Anthony Wayne buddy, Keith Schneider in Seattle in May.  I guess the point I'm making is for you all to make use of the Class Directory and reach out to that old high school friend you've been meaning to call. As Sue M Eck reminds us, life is short and the 3 Fates are cruel; they spin, measure and cut the strand of life without regard for "Should Haves" or "Wish I Hads" or all those other regrets that appear after it is too late. For those of you who have moved or changed email, please let me know your new contact information so that it can be posted. Knowing that the high school alumni directory is not normally part of the USPS moving kit, here's just a little reminder!

Yes, it is definitely time for spring and some renewal. Be a part of it.