Best Autumn Ever

It’s been too long since my last post. The week of Meredith and Jacob’s wedding was one of the best in my life for a lot of reasons. Actually this Autumn season has been terrific.

The fun began with a visit to San Jose to see Myisha and Adam. The excuse was Adam’s induction (swearing in) as an officer in the US Navy. The fun was just being there and seeing the area where they live and visiting with friends and family. Adam showed us around Santa Clara University, which is a beautiful setting in which to attend school. We stayed at a nice hotel (Hyatt) for a good price thanks to Hotline.com. And the weekend, though we enjoyed visits with many friends, was topped off with a nice brunch at the hotel where Cathy, Myisha, Adam and I got to just spend some leisurely time visiting and enjoying each others company with no one else around. I really appreciate Myisha and Adam taking their time to do that. It meant a lot to me and I know Cathy loved it as well.

Then we decided to drive south down the coast (Highway 1) for probably our last time. We enjoyed it a lot even though it took a long time. Big Sur and the other coastal areas were, as always, beautiful. We had a late lunch/early dinner in Cambria, one of our favorite little towns on the coast, and then scooted home as fast as we safely could. It was great.

Then the very next weekend, we flew to Salt Lake City to participate with friends and family in the celebration of my mom’s 90th birthday. That was enjoyable for all the same reasons, but this time we stayed at the Little America Hotel in SLC (another good Hotline.com deal). And this time we had a very nice brunch with Kim and Kevin at our hotel before flying back home.

The third fun thing was Meredith and Jake’s wedding at the Timpanogos Temple followed by the reception in Orem.

And the following week we hosted a reception at our home that turned out to be a smashing success. We worked hard on that reception but I took the whole week off from work so it just seemed like fun. Cathy and her friends created Epicurean delights that only those who know her can truly comprehend. The backyard was in fine form. We were a little worried about the cool afternoon fall weather that materialized as feared, but our friends, Allan and Karen Harmon, loaned us some out door heaters that worked so well that we couldn’t get anybody to go home. Actually, that was really fun too and I enjoyed that a lot.

After the reception Meredith’s mom and dad, Eileen and Kerry Black, along with a few other close friends, sat around the living room and enjoyed watching Meredith and Jake open their gifts.

After all of this, Thanksgiving, though most enjoyable, was basically anti-climatic. Meredith and Jake, and one of Meredith’s lonesome girlfriends, Marissa, joined us for chicken – yes chicken – dinner. Call us rebels, but it was every bit as good if not better than any turkey dinner would have been.

The highlights of this fall, closely following the wedding and Mom’s birthday, were the brunches with Myisha and Adam (we squeezed another breakfast at Denny’s in Provo), and Kim and Kevin. We also enjoyed several meals with the new Jacob Partridges since they live so conveniently close.

As I approach my 62nd birthday and my retirement from LAPD next September, the thing that means the most to me by far is my family. To have a beautiful wife who loves and supports me, three sons who have completed missions and gotten married in the temple, and now three truly lovely daughters-in-law makes me wonder how I could be so blessed. I have to be in the top one percent of happy guys who are over 60.

Thanks to all of you for your contributions to my joy.