SEASONS GREETINGS FROM: the Stewarts
THE YEAR: 2005— the year of the empty nest!
THE PHOTO: Dropping both kids off at college.
THE PARENTS: How could both kids be gone from the house already? Well, they are, but it turns out that we’re way too busy to pine too much. And there’s something to be said for unbridled flexibility! We miss them, of course, but we are comforted by their happiness and frequent email and phone communication; and we’ve been able to focus more on our own full lives. We socialize more, go to shows and concerts just about every weekend and occasionally out of town, and our jobs are demanding, too. Barbara loves teaching ESL classes and tutoring at a blessedly nearby community college, and Burr finds fulfillment focusing on sustainable development as strategic planning manager at the Port of Seattle. He’s also taken on consulting to the Providence, RI airport. His year was marred by a liver crisis—caused, we eventually found out, by the antibiotic Bactrim. We were quite frightened until we found out about this chemical rather than organic cause and the likelihood of a full recovery, which he eventually had.
THE KIDS: How could Robin be a college senior already?! We blinked,
that’s all! Highlights of his year included a Williams Choir trip
to Bolivia, and a summer research program at Johns Hopkins that was related
to natural language processing aspects of artificial intelligence. A Computer
Science and Cognitive Science major, he is now applying to graduate schools—an
even more daunting process than applying to college, especially while handling
a full college load.
How could Laurel be a college freshman already?! We don’t know, but right
before that she was in a semi-professional production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s
delightful “Patience”—very exciting for her after attending
annual G&S shows since she was 4. Now the backdrop of her busy life is the
University of Rochester and famous Eastman School of Music. Her dream of being
in a college a cappella group came true, and the resources of Eastman are phenomenal.
THE MODEL RAILROAD: Burr has spent lots of time this year converting it to DCC—a new electronic control system with lights, noises, etc. Now he has an even better time (if that’s possible) showing it off to lots of people, who find it easier as well as great fun to run the trains. Come and be one of them!
THE
WISH: Happy holidays…and peace.
