Christmas Times 2002

Another busy year in our lives but I’m at a loss for details. I guess the major impact on our household was Brandon’s graduation from high school in May followed by his departure for Georgia Tech in August to study Aerospace Engineering. He was the Valedictorian of the Class of 2002 at Duluth High School and gave a very confident, cool, and collected commencement speech. A version of the text, he says it’s not the final version, can be read at http://www.geocities.com/bluders.

 

In June, Lori, Brandon & Chris traveled with our high school youth group to Chavies, Kentucky for a week of working with the Appalachian Service Project. Lori was inspired by the faith, commitment, and maturity of a group of affluent kids from Atlanta going into an area where indoor plumbing is a luxury and making a difference both spiritually and materially in the lives of the people they touched. Nicky and I stayed home and redecorated the garage, a man’s only canvas.

 

We headed up North at the end of June with Mema Foster to spend time with Lori’s sister Kim and family, followed by a week with my Mom in Buffalo, and then back to Kim’s for a few more days before flying home. With Brandon’s college years just ahead, with semesters of classes intertwined with internship/co-op opportunities, we figured this trip might be our last as a family for a while.

 

While his departure for school hit me like a ton of bricks, Brandon’s transition to college student is cruising along quite nicely and he is thriving at Tech. So much so that the very infrequent visits here are pushed back on the front end and trimmed on the back! At a very short drive from home, we have found our more frequent day visits for a stop’n’drop, football game, or motor pool duty very refreshing. As a Presidential Scholar at Tech, Brandon not only enjoys the preferential treatment he earned, but also enjoys the seemingly ironic position of financial independence as a full-time college student! He can be reached on AOL Instant Messenger as Ludeman84.

 

Between marching band, school activities, and his very active social schedule, Chris is a man in demand and currently requiring dedicated chauffeur services. He’s in the midst of a very extensive driver’s education program so when next March rolls around, he’ll have a good shot at earning his license. He and Lori went to Disney World this past March with the marching band for their annual outing. His trumpet lessons are serving him well and he even has been strumming on his Mom’s 12-string guitar. Marching/football season recently wrapped up so life can slow down just a bit.

 

Lori, the Band Lady, just recently emptied our garage of the most recent band fundraiser. She too is enjoying the relaxed, post-marching season schedule. She also serves on our county school system Superintendent’s Council of Advisors and has even taken up knitting with a passion.

 

Other than a rather nasty two week bout with pneumonia in October, and keeping up with a half-dozen web pages, my day-to-day life remains much as it has for the past 15 or so years. I’m not complaining; age brings with it the reassuring comfort of the consistently familiar…

 

From our family to yours, we extend the very best wishes for a joyful and blessed holiday season.