Past, Present and Future?

1982-2015

Yesterday, my son-in-law, Roland, emailed me pictures of his sons sled riding. It immediately triggered memories for me. I knew that that particular sled had been photographed many times over the years and that it had special memories for me from my own childhood.

A Flexible Flyer sled,
 from 1936, within the
permanent collection of
 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Credit: Wikipedia

When I was a child, one of seven in my family, we had three wooden sleds of various sizes that we shared among us. At some point, I inherited the one pictured above. It was in pretty rough shape.

Fast-forward to 1982 and I was a single parent to Elizabeth and had recently started dating my now husband, Bill Reed. Bill had some skills, and I wanted to have him rehab the sled for Liz at Christmas. Bill replaced a couple of the boards and varnished the whole thing. We also wrote to the company that made the sled and they provided us with a new "Flexible Flyer" decal. The first two pictures on the upper left include Bill, me and Liz when we gave the sled to her. I'm sure it meant more to me than it did to her. It brought back memories of my Dad.


When our first grandson, Ian, came along, we decided to pass it on to him. I cherish the picture of Bill with Ian making final adjustments to the sled. It snowed here in Cincinnati, and Liz, Roland and Ian took advantage of the fresh snow with the old sled. Ian, in the pictures with the brown hat, delighted in this new experience -- as did Grandma with camera in hand.

So on January 31st, 2015, new pictures arrived in my inbox. Andrew, pictured on the bottom right in a blue hat, clearly loved his ride on the sled. Pictures of Ian on the "new" green plastic sled were also included, as well as a couple of videos. I guess I'm sentimental, but these traditions mean far more to me than any other kind of gift. On this date, I am grateful for my many blessings.

Ian Meets Andrew

Yesterday my newest grandson, Andrew, was one week old. Now that he is tube-free, my daughter and her husband were allowed to bring Ian to the hospital to meet his younger brother. He was not allowed to come into the NICU, but his parents were able to alternate holding the baby at the window so that Ian could at least see him. My son-in-law sent us some pictures and I just had to share them. Ian was given a "Big Brother" shirt for the occasion. In the first picture you can just see Ian's anticipation. In the second, it is apparent that he seems to be happy with the result.

Roland and Andrew

Livin' the Dream! Becoming an American . . .

On this, the 235th birthday of the United States of America, we need to pause and think about what that means.  If you've never been to a swearing-in ceremony for new American citizens, you really should try to attend one.  First of all, I think you'll be amazed at the diversity of new citizens.  There was a ceremony here in Cincinnati last week, and I believe they said that the new citizens came from 40 different countries.

My son-in-law, Roland, became a citizen in 2008.  He is Hungarian from Venezuela.  Go figure.  He and my daughter met in college and were married years later.  It took him 13 years to become a citizen and jump through all of the hoops.  He does not take his citizenship for granted.

His parents defected from Hungary which at the time was under Communist rule.  His Dad tells stories of friends just "disappearing" from the streets.  Life was good in Venezuela, but now it is ruled by a dictator whose policies very much remind them of the country they abandoned.  It is painful for them to see it happening again.

So as you fire up the grill today and rejoice in the patriotic music and skies full of fireworks, take a few minutes to think of the blessings you have, just by virtue of having been born here. Happy birthday, USA!   May we find a way to live up to the "idea" of you.

A Father's Day Diversion

Thinking of the men who contribute so much to our lives!

Bill Reed's 75th Birthday!

Kath and Bill
Photo Credit:  Mark Jones

Today is my husband's 75th birthday!  This, in itself, is quite an accomplishment.  Bill suffered is first of many heart attacks when he was 42 years old.  He's had two triple-bypass heart surgeries and double stents put in. And yet yesterday we indulged in one of our guilty pleasures -- riding our bikes the eleven miles to Loveland.  Bill has always loved exercise, and his cardiologist would be the first one to tell you that that is the reason he is still here.

Bill is my second husband.  He has one daughter, Julie, from his previous marriage.  We met when I was a divorced single parent of a less than three-year old daughter.  When we started dating, my daughter who was used to having me all to herself, did not feel like we needed anyone else in our lives.  He hung in there, however, and we were married 5 1/2 years later.

Roland, Bill, and Kathy on Elixir

Bill is NOT defined by his health.  One of his favorite passions was sailing.  For more than 30 years, Bill spent just about every weekend from May through October on whatever boat he had at the time.  As I grew up in a family of "stink boaters," having a sailboat was "heresy." Now our son-in-law, Roland, is Elixir's owner and captain.

We have been married for 24 years.  Not only was Bill a "father" to my daughter, but now has the privilege of being a "grandfather" to Ian.  I've been blessed by knowing him for thirty years.  The joke in our family is that Bill is always on the verge of "dying."  When we decided to get married, I was led to believe I'd only have to make it through a couple of years (since he'd be dead before too long).  Not only have I shared most of my adult life with him, but we've also been able to travel together all over the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel. He is the BEST travel companion.  We know how to accommodate each other's health issues.

So I wish the best for Bill as we move forward from here.   I'm grateful for the wonderful partner he is.

Ian, Kath, Bill, Roland and Liz - Easter 2011
Photo Credit:  Mark Jones, Nephew

Love

Kath

My Son-in-Law, Roland - AKA Clotbuster

Roland the Clotbuster

Today is my son-in-law's birthday.  As you can see from the picture, he is many things.  In addition to being the husband of my daughter and father of my grandson, Roland is passionate about educating the public about blood clots and how to prevent them.  He is a triathlete who uses his races as a vehicle for increasing awareness. You can check out his blog by clicking on this link: http://clot-buster-triathlete.blogspot.com

My daughter, Liz, met her future husband while attending DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.  Roland has an interesting personal history.  His full name, Imre Roland Varga, reflects his Hungarian heritage.  Roland's parents, Imre and Ildiko, defected from Hungary at the height of Communism.  It is a story in itself.  They eventually ended up in Venezuela where Roland was born.  In his family, it is traditional for the first-born son of the first-born son to be named "Imre".  Thus, my grandson Ian's full name is Imre Ian Varga.

After graduating from high school in Venezuela, Roland's parents thought it would be important for him to become proficient in speaking English.  Never mind that he was fully bilingual already -- English is the language of business.  So they arranged for him to be an exchange student in Evansville, IN where he attended an additional senior year of high school.  The family Roland stayed with in Indiana encouraged him to consider attending college in the United States.  The husband was on the Board of Trustees for DePauw and, as they say, the rest is history.

Roland, Liz and Ian

Liz and Roland started dating their Junior year.  As Roland wanted to be an electrical engineer, he had to complete his education at Washington University in St. Louis.  Their relationship was not an easy one to maintain as Roland had to transfer to St. Louis and eventually got a job in Kansas City.  Liz, meanwhile, spent a semester abroad in London and returned to Cincinnati after graduation to pursue her Master's Degree in Genetic Counseling.  During two summers, Roland stayed with us as he pursued summer internships.  We feel so blessed that the two of them hung in there and became the parents of our beautiful grandson.

So here's wishing a happy birthday to Roland.  Who knows what we'll be able to write about by his next birthday.

Love,
The In-laws -- Bill and Kathy