December 8, 2005

A rare sunny day in the Pacific Northwest melts away the remnants of our December 1st snowstorm, leaving only small disfigured white mounds where proud snowmen once stood. That storm instigated a minor panic in our household having planned Shannon’s 7th birthday party for that evening, as we struggled with the road conditions and the safety of those attending. All’s well that ends well … the roads were clear enough by 6pm to go on with the event as planned and fun was had by all.

We closed last year with a Steffens family reunion in Orlando for Christmas where both my brothers (Bruce and Dave) now live. Mounds of spent wrapping paper, laughter, a few practical jokes and just being together made for a memorable time … we live much too far away from my family. The weather was more like Seattle than Florida with steady showers during most of our visit. A precipitous break one morning allowed us to spend a day Disney World with Nan and nephew Zach, giving Hailey her first exposure to Mickey Mouse and massive crowds. Shannon (now tall enough to ride most rides) couldn’t get enough in, favoring roller coasters and anything “scary”.

My mother continues to recover from her stroke last November, progressing from hospital, rehab nursing home, assisted living facility apartment and finally back home in October. Her ordeal lasted almost a year and left her with difficulty communicating verbally which will probably remain with her for life. My brothers and I alternated flying out to Appleton to visit and assist with her various moves throughout the year. In April I made arrangements with her doctors to fly her to Seattle with all her medications, health and communication issues so she could meet her latest granddaughter (Hailey) for the first time and bond with Shannon. It was the first time she had been away from a health care facility overnight for over 6 months. We took her on a 4 day mini-vacation to Vancouver, visiting Stanley Park, shopping, hiking and exploring the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the “treetop” trails on the return trip. While staying in the Renaissance (assisted living facility) my mother met a nice 82-year old retired doctor. It was a bit of a shock during my weekly phone call with her to find out that my 80-year old mother had a boyfriend. Miracles occur sometimes when you least expect them.

I love having “big” parties. Since Hailey and I have birthdays within a week of each other in early July, we had a grand party with over 80 friends, neighbors and their offspring in attendance. A good test of the ½ acre fenced in backyard, new patio furniture, firepit and rented jumper for the kids. Later in the month we went camping in the Northern Cascades with our friend Marcia, car-camping “ringleaders” Scott and Mary Jo, and about a dozen other friends. This is becoming an annual event with the Harry’s providing elaborate gourmet experiments in campfire dining. You had to be there to understand that last statement.

Summer came to a close on a sad note when Nora's father Bill died very unexpectedly in early August, passing away peacefully during an afternoon nap on his couch. He had golfed and had coffee with friends earlier that morning. His funeral ceremony was held with full naval honors including a gun salute and the presenting of the American flag to his oldest child, Holly. Bill led a very colorful navy career and life. At the funeral home we put out copies of his biography which I had finished over that weekend with Nora and Holly's help. Most of his biography information was gathered at the naval hospital in late 1997 while Bill, his brother Jack, his navy buddies and family waited to see if Nora’s mother Pat would recover from the stroke that eventually took her life. His biography is now posted on our website with captioned pictures for those interested. We miss him and think of him often.

In June Rockwell Collins decided to move most of their Seattle operations to southern California and Mexico beginning in late August. Along with that move went my IT Manager position of over 15 years. I was treated well with 13 weeks severance, a month vacation balance and most of my yearly bonus. Being laid off in late summer meant one thing … more time for projects!!! I launched into a boatload of them (river rock flower beds, long needed sprinkler system mods, added a countertop, sink and shelves in the shed, replaced the sticking warped door/frame to the deck, etc). We also finally managed to put the finishing touches on our will and long-term financial plan. Hey, what about the job search? Well, I’ve applied at about 40 different companies, corresponded with dozens of recruiters, had 8 phone and 3 on-site interviews, and 1 offer which I turned down for a number of reasons. The market is tough out there!

While my company went through its turmoil, Nora’s company steadied itself based on some key organizational changes that occurred during the year. Universal Avionics added about 20 jobs locally and the possible move of engineering (Nora’s facility) to Tucson is no longer being considered. Her job stability now has a new meaning to our household.

Shannon turned 7 in December. She’s enjoying 1st grade at Kokanee Elementary and is reading at a 3rd grade level with her writing slowly catching up to that. Things like eating normal food (trying new things) and cleaning up her room however still totally escape her. Was I like that growing up? Really starting to sound like a parent now which scares me. Shannon continues to enjoy a wide repertoire of sports activities. While retiring from dance class, she (and we) had a year full of gymnastics, swimming, coach-pitch baseball and soccer with some biking, roller skating, scootering and ice skating tossed into the mix. Seeing her competitive spirit emerge playing soccer was exciting to me … just ask all the other parents that had to endure my “enthusiasm” on the sidelines during the games.

Hailey turned 1 in June and her food ratio (in her to on her) has crept up to somewhere around the 75% mark. She started walking at 12 months, talks now learning new words every day, and her comprehension of complex commands sometimes amazes us. Shannon is a wonderful sister to her, giving us some much needed breaks playing chase and laughing along with us at her fun-loving emerging little personality and infectuous bouts of giggling.

Our vacations this year were mostly local as we hit Vancouver in April, attended Nora’s niece Kristi’s wedding in Bozeman, Montana followed by a jaunt to Yellowstone in late June and took a long weekend in Victoria over the Thanksgiving break. We had plans to visit our friends Mark and Christy in Grand Rapids in August when Nora’s father passed away and we had to cancel … I still have a handful of friends there that we looked forward to visiting.

I continue to play softball with remarkably few age-related injuries this year. Halloween saw us hit the streets as a gorilla, cat and JoJo (the clown). Some of the neighbors began to give out “treats” for the parents walking their kids around … I remember shots of “Jaeger” being passed out somewhere along the route. Shannon hits the slopes for year 3 of ski lessons starting in about 3 weeks … last year she was skiing Intermediate runs with me after class and seems to truly love the sport. Our “kitties” of 2 years ago are now 18 pounds (Kovu) and 12 pounds (Kiara) respectively and they generate lots of entertainment value to earn their keep.

Being unemployed has its advantages, readily apparent when the Christmas lights were actually up early, all the gift shopping completed by the first week in December, and the annual letter in the works almost 3 weeks before Santa’s sleigh hits the skies. Nora has candidly been suggesting I be a “house husband” but I’m not sure I can handle Hailey full time. Digital Vision (my side business) is still in full swing doing website and graphics development for new clients and marketing and event brochures for Microsoft now (thanks to my friend Jim). Doing that full time is an option being considered as well as going back to college. 

This has definitely been a year of transition, reflection and tough decisions (some yet to be made) for us. May the sun melt away the snow and illuminate your path in 2006 with focus on what’s truly important in life. Merry Christmas 2005 from ours to yours!

Love …