Category Archives: Family

Stories of Family in the Time of Covid-19 – Part 3: Reopening (a little bit)

05 Friday Jun 2020

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We in New Mexico are in Phase 1 of our Reopening. It’s hard to keep up with the details, but it includes wearing masks in public, non-essential retail stores are open with restrictions – social distancing, masks, sanitizing, etc., and outdoor public spaces are open. So in addition to the expedition to Trader Joe’s I mentioned in an earlier post, I have now ventured carefully to the garden center and the doctor’s office. I’m feeling very toddlerish. The most exciting reopening adventure to date, however, has been our trip to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden yesterday with daughter Rachel and the grandkids. It’s Members Week there prior to their opening to the public at large, and they have set up an extremely well marked walk through the gardens with timed-ticketing to maximize social distancing. It was a beautiful day and was beyond thrilling to be out in this beautiful spot after a long winter and a longer-seeming period of isolation.

A Walk in the BioPark

The Aaker masked band: Colin, Frances, Rachel, and Lucy. (Picture me behind the camera.)
So many shapes, colors, lights, and shadows. Frankie, Lucy, Colin, Rachel
Clear instructions for social distancing.
Pretty girls: Frances…
…and Lucinda
Trestles, but no trains yet
The water lillies are very happy
A thorny poppy at the Heritage Farm
Can’t visit the conservatory just yet, but it seems to be doing well.
Colin loves the waterfall – and climbing on rocks
Likewise!!

Stories of Family in the Time of Covid-19 – Part 2

31 Sunday May 2020

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My nephew Eric is 48 years old, a husband, father, and grandfather.  He and his close-knit extended family live in Peru, Indiana.  He is the son of my late beloved brother, John.  Eric is a fine human, and I sometimes think of him as the man John could have become had he not been irreparably scarred by early child abuse and his experience in Vietnam.  As a long-distance truck driver, Eric is considered an essential worker.  I spoke at length with him this Spring. This is his pandemic story.

Eric owns a small fleet of five semi-trucks and runs the long haul himself.  He worked his way up, beginning as a driver after being laid off fifteen years ago from another job in the then recession-battered Peru, Indiana.   I spoke with him about his experience during the era of Covid-19. “It’s a crazy world out here,” he says.  When a load becomes available there may be twenty-five to forty companies competing for it.  “My drivers are contract employees who have families to support.  Before I take a load, I give it to one of them.  I don’t want to lose my drivers.”  He’s lost 50 to 60% of his income.  Because he’s considered self-employed and his drivers are contract workers, none of them is eligible for unemployment.  “The PPP [Payroll Protection Plan, part of the CARES act] did nothing for people who have equipment like semis.”  But Eric says he’s “confident we’ll make it through.”  He’s associated with a long-lived company and sees a better future ahead as that partnership grows.

  • Thrall Transport
  • Part of the Fleet
Photos by Eric Thrall

How are you managing in these pandemic times?  “I worry most about my family,” he says.  His wife, Shannon, is high-risk with one kidney and other health issues.  She works as the Senior Branch Office Administrator for a financial company and is considered essential, but her wages are frozen.  She has the option of working from home but has chosen to work from the locked office.  Both his daughters work full time in medical offices, but their hours have been cut due to Covid-19 and his sons-in-law are laid off due to the pandemic. 

But what’s it like out there on the road?  “It’s eerily quiet.  I’ve driven through Chicago, LA, San Francisco, and Portland.  What used to take an hour and a half now takes 25 minutes.  I always used to avoid Chicago between 5 and 8 PM.  Now I just drive straight through.”  But what about eating and sleeping?  “I’m getting sick of fast food.”  Now truck stops are no longer serving sit-down “home-cooked” meals.  Customers can go inside, but places are marked for social-distancing and you tell the clerk what you want and they get it for you. Deliveries are contactless.  When the truck arrives, people are there to unload it.  “You’re not allowed to get out of your truck.  They unload it and pound on the side when you’re ready to go.”  He sleeps in his truck.  The overwhelming majority of people, he says, are keeping their distance.

Are you afraid of contacting the virus?  “I take the proper precautions.  I wear a mask, and I disinfect the cab every day.”  The worst thing, Eric says, is missing his family and his fear for their safety when he is at home.  “I go everywhere! I was literally there in Washington State when it all began!” His Mom asks why he never visits.  It’s hard to not see her or his daughters and their families, his five grandchildren.  “But I don’t want to be THAT guy.”

Eric picked the number for his own truck – his Dad’s birthday. “Wanted some part of him with me”
Photo by Shannon Thrall

How’s Jonathan doing?  His special-needs son is the reason they bought the house they live in now.  He has his own living space in the lower level.  But Shannon makes sure he does his chores before he can have screen time to play games with his cousin.  Eric lights up when he talks about Jonathan. “He’s a germaphobe, so we have tubs of anti-bacterial wipes and sprays! We were ready.” Jonathan is 25 but is developmentally delayed, so he is more similar to a 10- or 12-year-old kid.  He’s always surprising Eric and Shannon.  “His Mom likes to watch reality TV, like the Real Housewives of wherever.  He told us the other day that he doesn’t like her shows. When we asked him why, he said, ‘Because everybody’s always yelling.’”  Eric tells me that he loves Jonathan’s teachers.  They brought him out of his shell.  When he went through a period when he wouldn’t talk, his teacher taught him sign language.  When he graduated from high school, the master of ceremonies asked the audience to hold their applause until all students received their diplomas.  But when Jonathan’s name was called, all of his classmates erupted in cheers and applause. “I cried like a little girl.” Characteristically, Eric’s concern is for his son’s welfare.  “I used to be scared.  I still am.  What will happen to him when Shannon and I are gone?  Megan says she will step up, but I worry about the burden on her.” 

Eric and Shannon’s 30th wedding anniversary is in August.  They were planning a special trip to celebrate.  Shannon’s dream is to go to Ireland.  “But,I don’t know now,” Eric muses. 

Stories of Family in the Time of Covid-19 – Part 1

30 Saturday May 2020

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Like most everyone now, I can see the effects of the Covid-19 crisis playing out in different ways for different family members depending on their circumstances. I hear stories of how various people are being affected and I think, yes, I see that in my family. Here are just a few of their representative stories. More will be coming.

Family in Indiana

Susie and Phil are what we call in the midwest “snowbirds.” My sister and her husband leave their home in Evansville, Indiana every year around Thanksgiving time and return at the beginning of April. They live for those months in their large pop-out camper in beautiful Fort Myers Beach, Florida. This year found them at the Florida beaches at the peak of the pandemic shut-down. They sequestered there until the first week of April and headed home through four states before arriving back in Indiana. Any time in April, Susie tells me, I-75 heading north out of Florida is bumper to bumper. This year, she says, they flew right through. And the roads all the way home were almost empty except for big-rigs. At gas stations they masked and gloved up to pump gas. Inside the convenience stores you told the clerk what you wanted and they got it for you. Fortunately, since they were pulling the camper they didn’t have to use the public restrooms and they carried their own food.

David, my 46 year old nephew in Indiana was laid off from his job at in early March due to pandemic cutbacks – a victim of last in, first out. Fortunately, he was able to file fairly quickly for unemployment and is also receiving the $600 a week CARES act supplement. As long as that lasts, he tells me, he’s making more than when he was working. Not very reassuring for the long term, but the government support is helping him make it through. He had to think twice, though, before deciding to replace his 25 year old bed.

Graham
Photo by Amanda Willis

David’s sister, Amanda, is working full-time from home while playing teacher for first grade Eleanor and taking care of Graham, who turned one in January and is now walking – wherever he wants. Her husband, Jedd, still goes to work because he works for an “essential” company that makes parts for the U.S. Navy. (That’s all we know about that. If he told us, he’d have to kill us.) Amanda is the stereotype of the going-mad working mother juggling it all while sequestered at home.

Meanwhile in New Mexico

Here in Albuquerque, daughter Rachel and her husband, Bret, are teaching from home. Because Rachel is the educational technologist for her large elementary school, she was slammed when the schools closed in mid-March. Teachers were scrambling to implement online teaching and needed support and training. Students without the equipment to access online learning needed to be supplied with Chromebooks, and a system for cataloging and distributing those had to be set up and implemented. Bret provides counseling and classes for college preparation at his charter high-school, so all of that went online or on video-conferencing.

Meanwhile, at home are two high-school daughters, a son sent home from college and taking his classes online, and a now learning at home kindergartener who celebrated his sixth birthday while sequestered. When Henry is home from college, he usually has a job at a restaurant that keeps him busy and provides funding for his college expenses. That job, of course, is now nonexistent. A pre-med student, he was slated to start his dream job in a lab at the University in May. Fortunately, he will be able to begin that in June.

Lucy, 15 and a high school freshman, is struggling with difficult math concepts in her online class. She at least has a friend to hang out with in her “bubble.” This has also been an excellent art-making time for her. Frances, her very academic twin sister goes to a different high school and is less than challenged now that her courses are online. Sometimes she is the only student participating in her online lectures and discussions. She didn’t have a friend she was comfortable enough with to make her one outside contact, so the isolation has been difficult for her, especially since her volleyball season was brought to a halt by the pandemic.

Colin and Thor
Photo by Rachel Aaker

Precocious six-year old Colin takes long hikes in the mountains with his parents and their dog, Thor. He tries to entertain himself while both parents work from home, and mostly succeeds in not bombing their video conferences. His online learning is sometimes fun, especially when Coach pays a virtual visit to his class. It’s May now so all of them except Bret and Lucy, whose school is on a year-round calendar, are now on summer break. It will be interesting to see how that develops as the reopening gradually plays out.

And I am here in Albuquerque. For two months or so my only family visits were from Rachel, who delivered the groceries that she and Bret purchased for me when they went shopping. She often stayed for a socially-distant happy hour. In the past few weeks, we’ve expanded our family visits to include all of them at an appropriate distance. And in the past week or so some family members have walked to the park with me. All of us are trying to figure out the best way for our family contact to change as the pandemic stays while some of the distancing rules are relaxed and the world opens up a little. My big adventure was shopping at Trader Joe’s during their seniors only hour yesterday. This was my first visit to an indoor public place since mid-March. We’re entering Pandemic: Phase II.

Bit by Bit

23 Monday Mar 2020

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Spring in Montgomery Park

Day by day, bit by bit, I’m working to accomplish my goals for time management, exercise, and project completion. As an aside, what is this compulsion we have for accomplishing something, anything, rather than just letting our days flow? It feels almost inherent. Since I posted three days ago, I have accomplished a few things. Two days ago I took a nice long walk from my house to Montgomery Park. As illustrated to the left, spring is budding and blooming there, and really all around me.

Spring on Hahn Arroyo

It’s so much fun to look out the window from day to see and to see things getting greener and greener. Yesterday, after maybe overdoing the walk the day before, I didn’t exercise. The long walk made my new knee leg hurt all night. Guess I’ll make the lengths of the walks a little more gradual. Today for about an hour I did one of the exercise videos I screened the other day. I’m feeling pretty virtuous about that. When I’m done here, I think I’ll take a shortish walk. The weather is getting warmer as the days progress.

I’ve also been sewing. I completed one of Anne’s table runners and am working on a second one. I have enough left over fabric from the second on to make placemats and napkins. Sewing is a creative outlet for me, so I’m having fun with this.

I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday. They are good but not as good as Anne’s. They never are. She claims she uses the recipe on the bag of chips, and I do that, too. But they’re not the same! Oh well, that’s her signature dish, so I guess it’s just magic.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy, Happy Everything

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in Family, Philosophy

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jellybeansIt’s Easter Sunday today, and since my children are grown, my grandchildren are far away, and I am not religious, it’s just another Sunday for me. However, having been raised in the Christian tradition, or more specifically, the Catholic tradition, I can’t help but think about what I am not celebrating. I do not embrace Christianity or any other specific religion.  On the other hand, I don’t fully embrace atheism, either. While I do not believe in an omnipotent god who created, controls, or interacts in the affairs of the material world, I do believe in individual and collective spiritual reality. I also believe in good and evil and that both are present in the world and engaged in ongoing battles.  I hold many beliefs, yet do not have nor feel the need for a “belief system.”   I think that once you put a name to something, it is definable and limited.  My beliefs are constantly changing and growing as I live and learn.

So now that we’ve examined the tip of my personal philosophy iceberg, back to Easter!  In addition to its religious traditions, it also signifies spring!  A rebirth, growing, green, blooming!  And, unfettered sugar!  So, today I give myself permission to eat as many as I wish of the jelly beans given to me by my lovely sister who knows I love them and to anticipate the caramel dark chocolate bar given by my other loving sister.  Both of these people embrace all aspects of the holiday, and I thank them for sharing the sugar side with me.

Quote of the Day

20 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by in Family, Food, Philosophy, Random Thoughts

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“People who love to eat are always the best people.”

                                                                                 – Julia Child

Ironically, this quote comes directly from a dish towel.  I don’t know if Julia actually said it, and I suppose I could look it up on the Encyclopedia of the Internet for veracity’s sake.  But I want to believe she said it, so I’m taking the word of my dish towel.  I also want to believe that it’s true because I love to eat, I love to prepare food, and I love to hang out with other food lovers.  My family is very good in this regard.  In fact my niece is responsible for the towel – it was her contribution to our family’s Christmas gift grab, and I grabbed it.

pie -2My family and many of my friends and I love to prepare food and then talk about food while eating.  In fact, in an act of extreme self-sacrifice and good food sportsmanship several of said friends and family members showed up to eat pi-e when I planned a last minute celebration on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53.  It was a monument to our desire to commemorate a once in a lifetime mathematical event.  Plus, I make damn good pies.  They were the talk of the evening.

The Place I Write – My Study Tells the Story of My Life

24 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Art and Creativity, Family, Philosophy, Random Thoughts, Weddings

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Note:  This post is written in response to the WordPress Writing Challenge: The Devil is in the Details

my studyThe room faces east, so in the morning, my favorite time to write, the sun streams in the large double window and glows off the terra cotta walls.  In fact, I must reluctantly adjust the blinds to block the rays that hit my face as I sit on one of the two comfy patchwork-patterned club chairs with laptop, my first cup of coffee  on the table beside me.  This room more than any other in my house is a warm embrace filled with the story of my life.  Each of the many family photos hanging on the walls and littering the tops of file cabinet, desk, sewing-machine table, and bookcase  has its own story to tell.  The one on top of the photo-printer of my Mom with her four small children on the grass in front of our home in the “projects” in Cleveland  shortly before my father abandoned our family and her long odyssey into poverty-stricken single motherhood began.  The one of my sister Susan smiling from an outdoor cafe table some forty years later when the five of us returned on what we called the Pilgrimage to Cleveland so our Mother could revisit the city where she grew up, married, and gave birth to four of her five children.  The nose-to-nose portrait of my two happy, beautiful daughters that they had made as a Christmas gift for their parents ten years or so ago when they were still in their twenties.  The close-up of the flawless, wide blue-eyed baby face of my niece, born following three miscarriages to my “baby” sister, whose only heart’s goal in life was to have children.  The snuggling, smiling heads of my Mom and my only brother who spent every week day with her during the two years of her treatment for the cancer that ultimately took her life. The portrait of me taken by the College PR department when I began my 25 year career at Ivy Tech, a favorite of my Mom’s that hung on her picture wall until her house was sold.  I never liked the picture much, but it was her favorite of me, and now I’m thinking I looked much younger, thinner, prettier then.  Pictures of my children, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, even one of my ex-husband playfully kissing the cheek of my brother-in-law, all carrying stories of the joys and sorrows of their own lives.  It could be overwhelming – but somehow it’s mostly reassuring to know my place among them.

The other clutter in the room comes from piles of projects.  Magazines to be read, binders and files full of papers to be put away or dealt with.  I’ll turn 65 this year, so there’s a tote-bag full of information on Medicare to wade through.  A box of travel information and mementos that I will use to help me sort and identify the 1500 or so photos I took on my trip with friends this past summer to Hungary, Austria, Yugoslavia, and the Czech Republic.  So much to do.

IMG_2165In one corner of the room, my large desk is surrounded by and cluttered with items of form and function.  I love the framed print by N. A. Noel on the wall above it of a little Amish girl holding a white cat.  It looks so much like my younger daughter and Happy, the cat we had when my girls were growing up.  A tearful Rachel held that cat in her arms years later when, old and ill, it was put to sleep.  Next to that hangs a canvass print of a photo I took of the reading room of the Library of Congress – my Mecca – on that lucky day when a friend and I happened to visit it on a rare day that it was open to the public and photography was allowed.   On the short side of the desk corner wall are four square painted canvasses depicting keyboard symbols  &, !, @, and “.  The chrome and brass desk lamp came from a shopping trip in Indianapolis many years ago during a visit with my friend Sarah One, so designated because of the later acquisition of my friend Sarah Two.  And then, there’s the pencil mug, the Gertrude Stein in the shape of her harsh square face, ears and all, with the small figure of Alice B. Toklas perched on the handle.  This treasure I acquired from a catalog many years ago in another life when I was a stay-at-home mom, gardening, canning, and doing needlepoint.  Also holding desk tools is the green and gold stein, the only remaining memento from my undergraduate years.  And on, and on.  Amazingly, as crowded as the room is with memories and physical clutter, it’s still a restful place for me, a place of comfort.  All the unfinished chores will wait for me.  When I’m here, the lurking threat  of possible boredom disappears.  There will always be something interesting to do.  For now, though, the face of the  baby Ben alarm clock my sister gave me and the sunlight leaving the windows for the roof are reminding me that this day must move on.

Another New Year: Looking Back

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

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IMG_2155It’s January 2, and I’m posting my New Year’s reflections.  I’d like to say I’m writing on the second to avoid the day one rush or the cliche of all those New Year’s resolutions on the first day, but really, I was just procrastinating.  This certainly leaves an opening for my first resolution, but I think I’ll just side-step that one.  Must be realistic. I’m really more interested in looking back on 2012 than in planning for 2013, which is not to say that I won’t attempt both.

Yesterday I spent some time reviewing my previous blog posts.  I started Sausage Soup a little over a year ago, actually on October 31, 2011, the anniversary of my Mother’s birth.  At the time I started the blog, the idea was that it would be a forum for cooking and other creativity for my extended family.  Rebecca and I first then other family members had talked with much enthusiasm about the concept and after some time and study (see comments about procrastination in paragraph one), I got it up and running.  Since its inception, Sausage Soup has seen just one posting from someone other than me.  So, I think perhaps the group blogging concept is flawed, at least in this instance.  I think perhaps individuals have their own priorities.  Perhaps blogging by nature is a personal rather than a group endeavor.  Maybe it was a marketing failure on my part.  It doesn’t really matter.  I’m enjoying the opportunity for personal reflection that blogging offers, so the evolution of Sausage Soup is really rather lovely.  A blog is a living thing.  It is what it continues to become.  If the others wish to contribute, they are welcome.  If not, I’ll carry on with my own rather intermittent postings.  I’m not very good about the self-discipline required for developing habits, but I’d really like to be more consistent in posting. (OOPS!  Was that a New Year’s Resolution slipping out?)  I really do live more consciously and reflectively when I’m planning to write. (See this post.)

There were so many significant happenings in my life in 2012;  some I wrote about, some I didn’t.  For my own record, I list a few of the latter below in no particular order.

  • My friend of over 30 years, Laurel Rold, died of ovarian cancer on December 5.  She was just 64 years old.  Our children grew up together.  Laurel was a force of nature – strong, passionate, bright, witty, outspoken, honest.  Her loss is overwhelming to those of us who were fortunate to have her in our lives.
  • I took a trip in August with Corinne Smith and Ann and Wal Wallis.  We flew into Budapest, Hungary, and spent several days there before boarding a river boat for a cruise down the Danube to Prague with visits to several countries in between.  It was a wonderful experience, and I plan to share pictures from the trip (of course!).  The problem is that I am attempting to process my pictures using the Adobe Lightroom program.  This means I’m trying to learn the program while editing the images from the trip – and it’s taking far too long!  However, I’m determined to make it work in spite of the absurd delay in the final editing project.
  • I began volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club assisting with after-school homework and (primarily) teaching cooking classes.  It’s really great fun and I’m becoming very popular because the kids love to cook and eat and share their creations.
  • I took an Art History course at Ivy Tech.  I learned a lot about early art – an area of weakness in my education since I usually avoid all that at museums in favor of more recent work.  I also learned that I need to audit classes in order to avoid things like tests and papers.  I’ve already written enough papers in my education and career, and I’m retired now!  I also audited a Basic Photography course – I took the course many years ago for credit, but wanted to learn more about Lightroom.
  • My colleagues and friends Mary Jo Dentino and Mike Petty retired from Ivy Tech.  Their official retirement dates are this month.  Mary Jo was the Dean of the School of Business and Mike was Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Mike hired me 26 years ago and was my boss throughout my years at Ivy Tech.  I learned a lot from Mike.  Mary Jo’s career spanned the years I was there and evolved from adjunct faculty to School Dean.  She has been colleague, mentor, and friend and will continue to be the latter.  I mention these retirements both because of my personal interest and because I consider this to be the end of an era at Ivy Tech.  Both of these individuals grew the College and grew with the College.  It’s a very different place now than when all of us began there.  Mike and Mary Jo made extremely significant contributions to the College.  Their contributions will remain even as they move on.
  • Tom Ferrari, husband of my friend and colleague Constance, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.  There is no cure, but Tom is receiving treatment to prolong the length and quality of his life.  It has been a rare and touching experience watching these two people face and plan their present and future with such courage and love.
  • I’ve blogged here extensively about Rachel’s marriage in June to Bret Aaker.  I think, though, that my acquisition of three grand children by virtue of that marriage deserves its own  mention.  Henry (12), and twins Lucy and Frannie (8) are such a joy in all of our lives!  In fact, I’ll end this post today with pictures of them.

Lucy and Frannie at the Albuquerque Museum.

Lucy and Frannie at the Albuquerque Museum.

Henry at the Albuquerque Museum

Henry at the Albuquerque Museum

Lucy at Albuquerque Museum

Lucy at Albuquerque Museum

Wedding Season, Part III

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Family, Weddings

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Rachel and Brett’s Wedding Week

Place ring here.

Getting Gorgeous
The week of the wedding contained all the traditional wedding preparation activities, like the ritual mani/pedi fiesta for the bride, her sister Rebecca, her Mom (i.e. me), her sister-in-law to be Sarah, and her cousin Amanda.  We had a good time, although the designs chosen by some of the more adventurous members of the party challenged the creativity of the manicurists.  You’ll see those designs in the picture gallery posted below.  Rachel chose to have a little heart painted on her ring finger so Bret would know where to put the ring.

Rebecca goes glam.

Of course, hair and makeup for Rebecca, Rachel and me was part of the ritual for the wedding day.  Sergio Salvador, the official wedding photographer was on hand to capture those moments.  Rebecca went for the big-hair, glamorous  makeup and had false eyelashes for herself and Rachel.  Unfortunately, they turned out to be uncomfortable and both girls removed them before the ceremony ever began.  It was a great look while it lasted!  Rachel’s regular stylist did a beautiful up-do, as planned.  While we were at the salon, Frannie and Lucy were having their hair done by Amanda at our rental house.  All styles are displayed in the photo gallery.

Party Week
On Wednesday evening all the parents gathered for a parent-exclusive dinner with the bride and groom at the house I had rented for the week.  Madeline and Jedd and Amanda went out to dinner with Chrisi (Rachel’s best friend) and her husband Mike and managed to have a good time without us.  Tom and Sally had not yet met Bret’s parents, so this was a great opportunity for all of us to become better acquainted before all of the larger wedding events.  The house had a wonderful patio courtyard with a grill, so we (well, Bret) grilled pork tenderloin and paired it with a big green salad (and lots of wine 🙂 for a simple dinner and great conversation.

Nature Pointe

Thursday’s rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were held at Nature Pointe, the wedding venue.  After getting off to a bit of a rough (well, ruffled) start due to a booking overlap with another wedding party’s rehearsal, our rehearsal was both fun and productive and the picnic sponsored by the grooms parents, Judy and Jerry Aaker, was perfect.

Rebecca, as the wedding officiant, was a paragon of preparation (oooo…nice alliteration) and organization.  The flower girls and Henry, his Dad’s best man, took their roles very seriously.  On their own initiative, Frannie and Lucy practiced their pacing for the procession diligently and repeatedly while Rebecca worked with the rest of the wedding party.  Henry learned about how to hold his hands during the ceremony (relaxed behind his back) and managed during the actual ceremony to keep them there for a remarkably long time before they found their way to his pockets.

Judy Aaker, friends Jacque Martin & Caroline Kelly, & Lani Lucky (Bret’s sister)

Having the rehearsal picnic at the wedding venue was especially pleasant.  It was a great facility as the guests were able to visit and eat inside or out, and the pool was available for the guests who wanted to take advantage of it – like every one of the children!  Bret and Jerry grilled hamburgers and hot-dogs to accompany all the other delicious fixins’.  An added benefit was that the guests were able to become familiar with Nature Pointe and the somewhat complicated route to get there prior to the wedding day.

Sarah and Malkie Aaker (Bret’s sister-in-law and nephew)

The Silliman Family – Jeanne Albrecht, Mary Gibson, Emily, Wade Gibson, Tom and Sally Silliman

That evening, Bret and Rachel hosted a cocktail gathering at their home, so the party just continued!  On Friday, Rebecca arranged for a cocktail hour at the upstairs outdoor lounge at Seasons in downtown Albuquerque so that the out-of-town guests could gather and spend time together with the Bret and Rachel and some of their in-town friends.  Wedding Week was pretty much Party Week.

The Big Ta Da!
After a year of planning and a week of preparation and partying, the big event began at Nature Pointe on Saturday, June 30, 2012.

Approximately ninety guests, many of whom arrived on the specially decorated school-bus (how appropriate since both bride and groom are teachers) shuttle, gathered on the spacious patio for an outdoor ceremony at 5 PM.

The wedding party was all family.  Looking incredibly handsome, Henry was his Dad’s best man and Lucy and Frannie led the procession as flower girls.  Tom and I escorted Rachel up the “aisle” we had configured on the patio where the guests were seated.  Rebecca officiated her sister’s wedding.  The ceremony was a heart warming combination of traditional and non-traditional and was highly personal thanks to her having submitted questions to the bride and groom ahead of time.  Jerry Aaker, father of the groom, provided the benediction at the end of the ceremony, and at the beginning and end of the ceremony Rachel’s aunt, Mary Gibson sang songs   Rachel and Bret had chosen.

My heart was so warmed to see the great happiness and love that was so evident in  Rachel and Bret’s faces as they held hands and spoke the vows prepared by Rebecca with such care and love.

Then, of course, we all, family and friends did what we all do best – party!  The band, Le Chat Lunatique, played their jazzy-bluesy songs as we ate, mingled inside and out, and danced the night away (well, until 10 PM).  Sergio and his assistant were on hand throughout, and here’s a link to the whole shebang.
Rachel and Bret Wedding Pictures – Sergio Salvador
If you prefer a smaller collection, I selected some of my favorites and they are posted below along with some I took during the week. (Click on any one image to view a carousel of enlarged images.)

Still to Come:
“Wedding Season: Afterword – Yours, Mine, and Ours: reflections on the importance of family, friends, and chosen family” and
“Amanda and Jedd Wedding – Memories & Reflections from MOB, Madeline Harris”

Wedding Season, Part II

29 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Family, Weddings

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Rachel and Bret’s Wedding

I’ve been working on sorting out all the myriad activities, events, and emotions surrounding Wedding Week in Albuquerque while meanwhile dealing with current activities, events,  and emotions and planning for a major vacation trip. (Life is so relentless!)  Conclusion: there’s no way to sort it out in any sequential way, so I’ll continue the random approach.

THE ROAD TRIP

Madeline, the newlyweds Amanda and Jedd, and I headed out for Albuquerque the Saturday before the wedding in my Prius.  The trip was two days of driving each way, but all of us are still friends.  We and our luggage fit remarkably well in what is essentially a pretty small car, and we had books on CD to keep us entertained.  Also, while we drove Jedd read the entire owner’s manual for the car and informed me of several features I was not previously aware of.  I love a curious mind!

Jane keeping warm at Montana Mike’s

Jedd and Amanda huddling for warmth

On the way out, we stopped for the night in El Reno, Oklahoma, just west of Tuscon.  My friend Jane and her son Ryan and his two dogs were driving to the wedding on the same weekend, and we met in the hotel and went out to dinner at a Montana Mike’s steakhouse that had refrigeration in the dining room.  Temperatures outside were in the 90s, but we wrapped up in whatever sweaters and blankets we could scrounge from our cars.

Cadillac Ranch Amarillo, Texas
The highlight of the road trip for me was our visit to Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas on our way home.  This iconic piece of public art is an essential part of any Route 66 (now I-40) journey that passes through this part of the country.   I love public art, and this one is so deliciously democratic!  As we approached on foot several hundred yards off of the frontage road that provides access to the site, we were shocked to see all the litter strewn on the ground. But as we got closer we realized that this was very specific litter: exhausted spray paint cans and lids of every color. Legalized graffiti!  And yet, those cars are in somebody’s field, so the thrilling sense of the illicit can be conjured up by the rebel artist wishing to make his mark.  It was a windy day when we stopped, so we had to be careful to avoid the cloud of spray paint as we approached.  My interest, of course was in photographing the cars.  I later realized, after doing some online research into the site, that many of my images had already been done by numerous others, often with far more dramatic skies to enhance them.  We were there at very close to high noon – not optimal for the best light, as any photographer knows.  But I still love my pictures.  Stopping here on the way home after an exhausting week made the journey feel more like a Road Trip and less like a long damn drive.  I still have the dream (fantasy?) of driving the Mother Road across the country, camera at the ready.  There was so much we saw as we zoomed home that I need to go back to explore and photograph.  It’s been done, I know, but there’s a reason for that.

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If you’re curious about the origins and history of  Cadillac Ranch, below are a couple of links.  If you want just a little more info, read this:

From Roadside America.com
…Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’s fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza).

From Wikipedia:
Cadillac Ranch is visible from the highway, and though it is located on private land, visiting it…is tacitly encouraged. In addition, writing graffiti on or otherwise spray-painting the vehicles is also encouraged…. The cars are periodically repainted various colors (once white for the filming of a television commercial, another time pink in honor of Stanley’s wife Wendy’s birthday, and yet another time all 10 cars were painted flat black to mark the passing of Ant Farm artist Doug Michels or simply to provide a fresh canvas for future visitors. In 2012 they were painted rainbow colors to commemorate gay pride day.)