HAPPY HOLIDAYS, 2018

Season’s Greetings, 2018!

Hoping you’ve had a very good year in 2018.

Wishing you an even better one in 2019!

The Saturn in the snow

This year (2018) began with a great deal of snow – more snow that I’ve seen in Charleston since moving here in 1970 – almost half a century ago! It didn’t just snow half an inch and then disappear two hours later – as usually happens here when it snows –every five years or so. No, it was a real, two-day snow that piled up at least a foot, covering the ground, making the roads impassable for a day and then hanging around as ice and sleet for several days afterwards. Grandson Blake was visiting Charleston over the holidays, and he had helped me clear out the garage and sort through a lot of stuff while he was here. His plane back to Minnesota was cancelled because of the snow. I had to drive him to Myrtle Beach, at night, on icy roads, so that he could fly back. Good thing I learned to drive in Michigan!

With Dinah, a longtime friend (since 1956)

It’s been a busy year, and I’ve generally felt better and been able to do more than in recent years. I’m taking new medication that improves the breathing and have been able to do some traveling this year to visit family and friends. In March, I visited friends and family in Florida – Sue and Ray, friends from high-school; Dinah, a friend from college years; and cousin Larry and his family. Back in Charleston, I mostly hung out with longtime UU friends.

Briana and Jeremy's wedding. Blake officiated.

Daughter Briana married Jeremy Potter in Idaho in June, and I flew out there and rented a car to attend the festivities. I mostly hung out with Briana’s aunt and uncle, Judi and Danny Lane. It was a lovely, outdoor ceremony. Later that summer, I spent a couple of days with Elisabeth and her family, who were in Hilton Head for a week.

Reunion dinner, K-college friends, class of 1958

Our Kalamazoo College class “(’58) had its sixtieth reunion in October, and I drove up to Michigan for that, stopping on the way to visit an old friend, Fran Cameron, outside of Atlanta, and my daughter, Elizabeth, and her family near Nashville. It was a lovely, memorable trip, 

Writing has taken up a lot of my time at home – so I’m not doing as much clearing and sorting as I should. A collection of short stories, Laboratory Notebook, came out in May. 

And my magnum opus, TheBewildered Patient’s Whole-Body Health Guide, was published officially on December 10! Please visit the webpage for other books you might find of interest!

Hope all is well with you – or as well as can be expected. I’ve made my peace with aches and pains and coughs – and a lot of other stuff that comes with age. Still enjoying life, though. And I just put down a deposit on an apartment in a long-term care facility under construction in Nolensville, TN, near Elisabeth and her family. I should be there for Christmas next year!

Joy to the World – and Love to Friends and Family! 

Jo (Anne Valentine Simson)