Reflections on 2017

 I am looking at my last post from 2016 in which I said "What will 2017 bring?"  This past year brought a major health crisis for one good friend and a tragic death for another.  Maggie Noll  has made an amazing recovery from her stroke on her 70th birthday in March;  she continues to work on her rehabilitation.  Jeff Bain-Conkiin's sudden and tragic death in September has affected all of us in our congregation; we continue to mourn for him and try to support Kelly and her boys.

The political situation with President Trump as our leader has not improved.  We have not gone to war with North Korea but the threat is there.  He continues to tweet with nasty name calling--just this week it was Crooked Hillary again.  He bargains the DACA status by saying the Democrats have to agree to his expensive and futile wall between the US and Mexico.  And he denies any "collusion" with Russia over the election which could very well be true, but he spoke of it 16 times in an informal 30 minute interview with a NYT reporter this week.

Was 2017 really worse in terms of climate and crises?   There were devastating hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico and fires in California.  There were mass shootings in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs, Texas and still no progress on gun safety.

For us personally, this year had gifts.   Jim's cataract surgery was wonderful.  He drives at night again and I don't have to!   We have been in good health and able to work, volunteer and travel.

Our week to celebrate our 50th anniversary with all 14 of us in Ocean Grove was a highlight with memories to last a lifetime--as long as that may be!  And that is something I do think about.  Maggie's stroke and Jeff's death have made us very aware of vulnerability--even in those who seem healthy as we think we are.

John Haas preached about the juxtaposition and contrast of Simeon's saying that Jesus would be a "light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel" but also that he told Mary "a sword will pierce your own soul too."   Once again, we don't know what 2018 will bring in our lives of joy and of sorrow.  I hope we can live with courage and hope and faithfulness.

I Miss My Laptop!

My Asus laptop has been fickle in the last month.  When I have been ready to give up on it, it seems to revive again.  Actually, dropping it once seemed to help.  But now it is really being recalcitrant and I need to get another one.  I don't think the day after Christmas is a good day to go to Best Buy so I will wait until tomorrow.  But this means transferring stuff and making decisions and I prefer to stick with the one I bought three years ago.

My laptop and I have been inseparable.  I can use my phone for email checks and even Facebook checks.  But I miss my therapy journal and my spiritual journal for processing my thoughts.  I missed my blog but have figured out how to access it on Jim's laptop.  And I just figured out how to add photos to it so I can publish again.

I accessed hotmail so I can write longer messages and have just done so.  Jim is being generous to allow me to use his device but I really like my own little PC.  But he wants it back as soon as I am finished with this entry!  I think I probably should agree.

_________A trip to Best Buy and I have another Asus laptop for $249 and a 3 year Geek Squad membership for $89.  I have successfully found my usual sites and some of my documents although they are not totally up to date.  I don't remember what I am missing--so maybe I don't need to work on retrieval of my downloads.  i woke up this morning feeling stressed about this, but I think it will all be just fine.

Old First Reformed Church

I "met" Rev. Daniel Meeter through the TwelveBlog.  He was one of the originators of that blog of  Reformed writers with a liberal perspective and continues to comment on the writings of others.  At some point,  I must have emailed him.    When he learned that we lived in South Bend, he mentioned knowing the VanEngens.  He grew up in West Sayville and my friend Sue VanEngen's dad was a very formative person in his life.  And his wife grew up in Hudsonville and went to Unity High School as we did.

I noted that our Brooklyn Holiday Inn was just a bit over a mile from the Old First Reformed Church where he is pastor so I asked if he would show it to us.  He was happy to do so and wanted to include lunch as well.

We walked up Flatbush Avenue, turned right on 7th Avenue, and found the church at the corner of Carroll Street.   This was a pretty commercial area of Park Slope.  A homeless person was sleeping in his bag on the front steps.

No one has been able to worship in the sanctuary for five years now--after a portion of the ceiling fell on a Rosh Hashana service for a Jewish congregation using the space.   This meant that the rather small Reformed congregation needed to enter a time of discernment.  Should the church be torn down?  Was it worth restoring at great expense?  The wooden ribs above needed repair, there is asbestos under the floor, and the organ has been damaged.

The sanctuary is huge and could seat over a 1000 worshippers.  The stained glass windows are treasures--by La Large, Tiffany, and the Heinigke and Bowen studio.   It was built in the late 1800s as a showpiece and was the third location for a church that originated in the 1660s.  Meanwhile, the church worships in one of the two large all-purpose rooms.

A decision has been made to go ahead with renovation. They consider themselves a "parish" church serving the community including meals for the homeless, a nursery school, and a place for the arts.  They are open to the LGBT community and Rev. Meeter has performed same-sex marriages, but only for members of the congregation.  He says they are Christ-centered with traditional worship but they have porous walls.  While walking with Rev. Meeter to lunch we observed his greeting several folks along the street.

Money has come from outside sources.  I know some came from selling grave plots owned by the church in a historic Brooklyn cemetery as written in a NYT feature article last fall.  The congregation of younger folks could not afford to pay for what might be a $6 million price tag.

Is it worth it?  I hope it will be.  It would be a shame to tear down such a beautiful historic building.  The present congregation will not fill the sanctuary but I could see using the space for musical groups and concerts.  I'm glad they have a vision for their  goal of "a great and unique space for our community and neighbors to find God, spirituality, and community in a crowded and clamorous world."

December Trip II

This is NYC!

Tuesday:  We left Gladwyne around 11:45 and didn't get into our hotel in Brooklyn until 4:15.  We left the car at the Hyatt Hotel in Princeton, got an Uber ride to Princeton Junction, waited 35 minutes for our NJ Transit train, and then experienced significant delays due to "overhead wire problems."  Only one train could enter Penn Station at a time and we had to wait our turn.  Once there, we took the 3 train to Nevins Station and walked to the Holiday Inn on Schermerhorn.

We headed to Trader Joe's and bought great snacks, but sadly there was no wine at that location.  A bit more wandering and we found a bottle for our little happy hour at 5.  We looked for "restaurants near us" online and found Caffe e Vino on DeKalb Avenue. My dinner was not only delicious; it was beautiful.  A little treat was the tomato flan served with our bread and the apple tart we shared for dessert.  There were only four tables being served the entire time we were there.  Hope they can stay in business.  "Cash only" was a bit of a surprise at the end but we did have enough to cover it without scrambling forr a neighborhood ATM.

Wednesday:   We met Dan for coffee and pastries at Green Grape Annex on Fulton Street before he had to get to work.  At 11:30 walked up Flatbush Avenue to 7th Avenue and the First Old Reformed Church.  We met  Pastor Daniel Meeter who gave us a tour of his beautiful church which is in the middle of major repairs.  The sanctuary is unusable at present but is really a treasure that they hope to use again by Christmas 2018. We had lunch at Bare Burger and enjoyed lots of conversation ranging from his church (and ours)  to topping onions in Hudsonville, Michigan (where his wife grew up) and the Dead Sea Scrolls, of course!

It was a day of eating!  At 5:45 we had our own little party in our room in which I finished last night's meal.  At 8 pm we met Dan at Bacchus Wine and Bistro where I remembered my hanger steak from last year fondly.  It was great again--with Bearnaise sauce and a glass of unpronouncable (for me) red wine.


Thursday:  We met Dan again for coffee--this time at Dot and Line--the tiniest coffee shop possible with just three seats for customers. The coffee was great however and so was the conversation.  It's so much fun to walk through NYC neighborhoods.  This area is less familiar to us with its streets of brownstone homes and apartments--just blocks away from the new skyscrapers where Dan lives.

This time the subway and train rides went very smoothly.  We took a taxi to the Hyatt Regency in Carnegie Center and were given a lovely room--4th floor in a quiet corner!  We relaxed for a while, took a good walk, and then went to Jeff and Susan's for supper.  The Princeton High School Winter Concert was at Princeton University Chapel and as always was an amazing display of talent.  The two concerto soloists on violin and piano were virtuosos.

A stop at WaWa on the way home for snacks and our own little party in the room.

Friday:  We drove to Gladwyne and were at R's Kindergarten Grandparents' Tea at 1:30.  Mrs. Friedman has had three of our grandchildren in her class and this was my second tea.  We do Venn diagrams of how Kindergarten was the same in our day and different.  We agreed with R that we both had "super stars" and that she had a backpack but we did not.  The toy from our childhood that I demonstrated was pickup sticks. It was a big hit there as well as here at the house.

Later in the afternoon the Princeton VKs arrived with Dan in tow.  We had snacks, we sang carols from the books I brought along, we ate a ham dinner with Susan's wonderful rolls, and then opened lots of gifts.  The socks I bought for everyone were fun.   Some had cash stuffed in them; others got books on the side.

Saturday:   A got hold of the Swiffer and did the floor.  What a wet mess!  But it is quiet now as the Conways are off to Breakfast with Santa at Longview Gardens.  Dan is sleeping; Jim is reading his 30 minutes of Hebrew, and I am at peace.  It has been a week of insomnia and succumbing  to meds at 12:30 am far too often!   But now we can go home and I can be tougher on myself, I hope!

I hope we are home by 12 am and I hope there are no more travel adventures to write about!

_________Nope!   We had an easy trip to EWR but a long wait.  Our flight was delayed and we had to wait for a crew which arrived around 10:30 pm.  We arrived in South Bend after 1 am and were home shortly before 2 am!

December Trip I

Friday was a rough day of travel.  We know that going through O'Hare is a problem and it was again.  We left South Bend on time at 8:20 and didn't leave O'Hare until 2:15 CST--almost four hours late.  Then the air train was stalled at Newark and we missed two NJ Transit trains and had to wait for 45 minutes for another one.  So, 13 hours after leaving home, we were checked into our Homewood Suites room  and ready for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays with Jeff.  We could drive it in 12 hours--but are hesitant to do so in the winter.

A few memories of a happier sort:   A young African-American woman behind me in line after our long wait at O'Hare said to me, "I want to tell you that I just love your hair."  Wow.  I was affirmed.  Then there was the young man who noted that my shoe lace was untied and he was worried I would fall.  His concern for an old lady was appreciated!

Dinner was also a problem.  Apparently a chef walked out and our server had another problem with the order and our meals were badly delayed.  Jim's came after the rest of us were almost finished and was on the house.

I did not sleep well--thanks to noisy plumbing and a midnight bath in the room over us and my own issues.

  But Saturday all was redeemed as I listened to Jeff and Jim laughing over a soccer game while I rested on a couch downstairs--and then listened to James' Princeton High School Choir singing Lauridsen's Agnus Dei with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra.  I closed my eyes and tears rolled down my cheeks.  It was heavenly--and I prayed for James and his life as he too leaves home next year for college.

We had another supper at Ruby Tuesdays with Jeff and M who is no longer a boy but is definitely becoming a young man.  Back to the room--a new room on the 4th floor with no one over us!  I am bold enough these days to ask for what I need!

Sunday:   It appears that the only way I can get my laptop to work is to drop it or slam it on the counter.  That has gotten it going twice now.


I had a much better night on the 4th floor and an easy drive to Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church where we worshipped with Laura singing in the choir and A in his class.

  It was a quiet day otherwise with the older three skiing with their dad and then off to The Nutcracker with Laura later.  Jim entertained A and later A entertained me by shoveling in the driveway for at least an hour--just happily removing snow from the lawn to the driveway itself.

Michael fixed us cheese fondue with bread and apples and it was delicious.

Monday:  Laura and I went shopping at the enormous King of Prussia mall where she successfully completed her shopping for adult relatives.  I got in the shopping mood and bought new lipstick and alas--cream for my wrinkles.  I had not given in to this before but today was inspired!   Then my dauighter treated me to lunch at Bonefish Grill.

It was a lazy afternoon but we did take a good walk with A to our favorite Henry Park with its little stream.  A had his hands so full of treasures of sticks and pine cones that he needed our help to carry them.

Supper was a fajita mix made by G, the nanny, who is a wonderful cook as well as a wonderful nanny.  There's lots of coming and going with karate lessons but Michael and S and R were able to eat with us.  Laura and J ate later.

So now it's off to NYC for a couple of days.

Memories

I asked Jim what were the highlights of our East coast trip for him.  The first thing he mentioned was speaking to groups which he hadn't done for a while.  I appreciate that.  His work is important to him and very much a part of who he is.

For me, "The Routes of Slavery" concert was a highlight. And so was meeting Jim afterwards walking back to the hotel on Amsterdam Avenue and then having tacos and drinks at 11 pm.   I loved walking through Harvard Yard and seeing Holden Green again.  I enjoyed my visit to the Fogg Museum.

We were both happy to be able to see Dan twice in NYC when we thought we might not see him at all because of his commitment to speak in San Francisco.

But there are other little memories I want to record as well.

Jeff's enjoyment of the 1972 passport I brought along for him--his addendum to my passport which included all our travels through Europe in 1970.

Katie's remembering what she chose to buy at our American Girl trip in Los Angeles so many years ago.

M's delight in showing me that he is taller than his grandma--and his eagerness to play his Einaudi recital piece for us.

Laura's organization and excellent meal for Thanksgiving--with some help from Jeff and Susan and Katie and me.  But mostly her efforts.

Michael's traditional oyster stew for lunch on Thanksgiving.

A's "I love you, Grandma." and R's delight in our bedtime routine.  She will be too sophisticated for it soon, but not yet.

R's deliberate and thoughtful way of dictating her story to me and our making a book together.

Seeing J laugh heartily at various times.

Knowing that S and Jim were enjoying throwing a football together in the back yard.

Seeing how J enjoys his large volumes and hearing his progress on the viola.

Yesterday I looked through my Blog2Print books from the last few years and realized how much one forgets and what a treasure it is to record memories and save photos.