Christmas 2010

Can we go back one year? Marisa and Arthur had their third child, Trevor, on February 11, 2009. In the spring of 2009, we all journeyed to Sweden for the wedding of Malin Höök, our Swedish daughter whom we have known since she was a year old. It was fun traveling with three children under the age of seven! We traveled by plane, train, bus, subway, car, and on foot. We all got sick but recovered in time for the wedding. It was quite the adventure, especially for Lynn and Philip, who escaped to Tallinn, Estonia, for a few days.

Watching the changing of the guard Phil and Lynn overlooking old Tallinn

(Royal Palace, Stockholm)

The biggest change in our lives was the move to assisted living by Lynn’s mom, Ruth, in March 2010. Mom lives 5 minutes from our house in a lovely community called Palo Alto Commons. There, she eats three wonderful meals in a lovely dining room with her friends. She has access to a raft of activities every day: Bingo and other games, crafts, exercise classes, and movies and concerts. It is so wonderful to see her several times a week instead of several times a month, as was the case when she was living in Milpitas. And we have lots of four-generation get-togethers.

Philip’s current project has been scanning, restoring and posting on Facebook photos of Kosrae from our Peace Corps and anthropology fieldwork days. Many of our students and former neighbors have reestablished contact with us from around the world, and we’ve made new “friends” with children and grandchildren of the people we knew. Common reactions include, “I have never seen pictures of myself when I was a child,” or “…of my grandparents/great-grandparents.” When we were on Kosrae, we had to make an appointment to use the government shortwave radio to communicate with the outside world. Now we can “chat” with people on the island over the Internet. Forty years have passed since we were in the Peace Corps, which means that our former high school students are now thinking about retiring. As are we!

Lynn had a career adventure in 2009-2010. She worked 2/3 of the year as a special-ed aide. But in September 2009, she took another job in market research, working for an old boss in the world of projectors (as opposed to copiers at Dataquest). Though the money was good, the workload and expectations were not. At the end of six months, it was clear that the job was not working out. So in the spring of 2010, she returned to education. She is currently working as a sixth-grade special-ed aide at the middle school level and is responsible for four students. She also teaches ESL at an adult school. Her career has returned to where she started 40 years ago.

We managed to make two domestic trips in 2010. In June we flew to eastern Pennsylvania to attend a Dreisbach family association gathering held in the church where one of Philip’s great-great-great-great grandfathers was baptized in 1759. Philip gave a talk on the use of y-chromosome testing for family history research, which was well received. In September, we went to San Antonio for the celebration of distant cousin Mildred Ritter’s 100^th birthday.

Lynn at Bachmann Publick House (Easton, PA), Mildred Ritter at 100, Philip and Lynn. Mildred’s

built 1753 by a brother of Philip’s ancestor. home in San Antonio, TX, September 2010.

As expected, Marisa and Arthur lead very busy lives. They both work full-time at Genentech and raise three children. Megan is now 7 and is in second grade. She takes art and gymnastics after school. Kyle turned 5 in October and started kindergarten in the fall with the same teacher that Megan had. He is very aware of what is going on around him: helps me find my slippers, appreciates new soap in the bathroom, and savors my cooking aromas. Trevor turned one in February and has many fans at Genentech’s daycare facility and Palo Alto Commons. He is a man of few words but is absorbing information every day like a sponge.

Megan, Kyle and Trevor, Dec 2010 Mike, Emily and Lily, Nov 2010

Big news from Emily—on Halloween weekend, her boyfriend Mike popped the question and had the antique diamond engagement ring ready. So now she is officially engaged, and their wedding will be next summer on August 6 in Portland. They share a darling little house in NE Portland. Mike is a certified arborist and has his own business. In addition to working in a doctor’s office, Emily is an active partner in Mike’s business. She and Mike bought a puppy, named her Lily, and are totally in love with her. Life is good.

Happy holidays to all, may peace and good will prevail, and may 2011 be a great year for you!

Lynn and Philip Ritter