December 2013
2013 Christmas Tree
Last Christmas Joe had a lazy-attack and didn’t write a traditional letter summarizing the year’s events. This year he is having a guilt-attack and will offer some irrelevant trivia about the excitement of life in Frankfort.
This account begins three months after a very brief visit with Joe’s son in Texas, twelve weeks of very bright Arizona sunshine, and a few days in Moab, Utah. By the time he and Peg arrived back in Frankfort, the magnolias, tulips and daffodils were all bloomed out, but the thistle was strong and spreading like crazy, the farmer in Joe began the yearly war against terrorists in the garden.
Peggy couldn’t wait to visit her sister Alma at Saint Patrick’s in Naperville and they did so before a single weed got pulled. Thank God for that, because the following week Alma had a series of seizures which ultimately took her home to the Lord.
Joe finally planted a garden in middle June, but wound up doctoring back pain which put a huge damper on the 2013 Monet Vision. The color theme this year was white with dabs of pink and salmon. The Wabbits attacked the petunias almost before they were planted and caused Joe to lose interest in spending so much for Wabbit food; the Vision suffered.
Their kids continue to amaze them with boundless energy and drive to live life to the fullest. Mike’s oldest is a sophomore at University of Texas studying to become a Pharmacist. His middle daughter is a senior at Woodlands High School, and Danny the youngest is in eighth grade. Jacque’s son Joey is a sophomore at Lincoln Way-North, her daughter Jenna is in fourth grade at Saint Jude’s. Steve, Joe’s oldest, still designs lab equipment while his two boys are becoming avid fishing enthusiasts. Jacque works with cancer patients at Loyola, and the Joliet Hospice.
Joe celebrated his official middle age birthday(75) in August and was gifted with a day of fishing with Steve, Ben, and Brad on the Saint Joe River. He wrote many stories about childhood fishing experiences in his book Jun-e-or, and this middle-age fishing story will sound the same, skunked again. The boys just kept on reeling them in while Joe watched them have a ball.
On Peggy’s side, her son Larry retired in September, and daughter Lynn is a year from doing so. We can’t imagine how these kids are growing so old right before our eyes. Her three grand daughters are young women with careers. That means they work one, two, or three jobs, drive ridiculously long miles to and from work, maintain animals, and fit in a social life too.
After they returned from Arizona, Joe parked his car in the garage and drove only the necessary miles required to go to church, buy food, and visit doctors. When he left the Valley of the Sun the temps were just under 100 degrees. As usual, he swore never to return, but then October arrived in Frankfort with a single chilly day. That sent him scurrying to the computer to find a rental for 2014.
Peg and Joe thank God for giving them reasonably good health that keeps them mobile and active. Joe even rode his bike 150 miles this year. He called it his “mile a day” plan. On the very first ride, he negotiated a slight incline leaving Brown Drive. His knees felt like they were going to explode. They also thank God for all the wonderful friends they have who keep in touch, and go out to play with them.
Peggy and Joe wish you and your family happiness, and great health in the new year, and a joyfully blessed Christmas.
Related articles
- Christ the King , Christmas & Saint Nicholas (potencialmillonario.com)
Filed under: Biography, family, Garden, grief, Memories, religion |
Leave a Reply