Reflections

As I look back on my life, there has been good and bad.  I refuse to look at the bad today, only the good.  Of course I have to put my kids and grand kids at the top of the list.  I was truly fortunate having children without any complications and short labors. The first time I held each of my babies I had the overwhelming feeling of love!  Then I was present when my grandchildren were born and got to hold them when they were only a few minutes old. Other good times were our vacations.  We traveled across country to Kansas a few times when the kids were young and camped often with a CB club and with friends and neighbors.  We took the kids to Disneyland, went whitewater rafting in Montana, went and camped at the Grand Canyon, visited friends in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and did a lot of fishing both locally in California and on the Colorado River in Yuma. As the kids left home sometimes we took them and at other times we went alone.  A trip just Louie and I went on was through Gold Country with lots of side trips.  Then we went on cruises.  When Elizabeth was 13 we took her with us to Alaska.  Not only did we do a lot of fun activities when we were in port, Elizabeth got to participate with a teen group while the ship was cruising. To this day she still talks about the fun she had on that trip.  We also took a cruise in Hawaii with Elizabeth and Becky.  Louie and I traveled to Texas to visit Sharon when she was living there. When Elizabeth graduated from college I took her to Disney world in Orlando, Florida.  We spent 5 days there then rented a car and drove to Key West and then to Miami.  So many good memories!

Not only did I enjoy vacations with my family, I also went on vacations by myself.  I was lucky to have a partner that trusted and encouraged me to be independent.  I went to the east coast to visit a girlfriend that lived in upstate New York and we toured Amish country, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachuetts, and New Hampshire.   Another time I traveled to visit my hometown to see my father's grave site and years previous I had traveled there when he was dying.  Yet, another trip to the east coast was when Becky ran in the Boston Marathon.  Becky, Liz and I stayed a couple of days in Boston exploring the city and the surrounding area then drove down through Connecticut to New York.  We stayed a few days in NYC playing tourist and then drove through my hometown in New Jersey on our way to Washington, DC.  A few years ago Becky and I spent a week in Los Cabos, Mexico. What happened in Cabos, stays in Cabos.  It was a good mother/ daughter trip with many highlights.

I'm sure there are fun times I left out...holidays, birthdays and many other occasions.  A lifetime of memories.  As I write this I can smile and say I've had a good life.