Stay Whole Tuesday

Lucy looking sharp on a rainy morning in Austin

Good day Sal Pal. How is your week? A rainy morning here, but anticipate sunny skies by the afternoon. Lucy was cute this morning in her blue palette and prepared for high waters. Emily had a good day at Lost Creek yesterday, with a round of 78 and a third place finish. She also took the longest drive contest, making Ricky May say to me, "She can't be your kid?" We are excited you are coming home for Easter. Grandpa is coming in from North Carolina as well. Love and miss you. Stay whole. Dad

Emily with a nice third place finish and longest drive trophy at Lost Creek

Make it a Great Monday

Emily's Graduation Party Invite!

Fit as a Fiddle Friday

New glasses for dad

Back yard bathing beauties

New glasses for mom

Great picture of Mattie

Gay gave us this picture when I was home for Grandpa's 80th and I have it on my desk. I scanned it and wanted to share it with you. Love - Dad

Freedom, space, and independence

Sally,

Your mom and I kept dating each other after that birthday picnic in Mendocino. I moved to Aspen and she was living with her parents in Macon. I traveled extensively for my work and it was easy for us to see each other on weekends and holidays. We spent time in amazing places, like Crested Butte, Taos, Hilton Head, Lake Tahoe, Sanibel Island and others. The more we were together, the more I knew that she was the girl of my dreams.

In July of 1987 she came to Aspen for an extended stay. She was going to take 5 weeks to see how she felt about our relationship. We had a great time, but during her visit she decided to take an open ended backpacking trip to Europe with my friend Sara Beth Jones. I was happy that she was going to get to take a once in a lifetime trip, but I felt it was best if we ended our relationship. She came to Aspen to see if we should be together, and it seemed (at least to me) that she was not able to answer that question. So we broke up.

It was during the time that mom was in Europe that she decided she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. She had no idea whether or not I would still be available, but she knew she wanted me back. I am sharing this story because I believe that (sometimes) the only way you can know what you want in a relationship, is to not be in a relationship.

We were seven years older (at that time) then you are now, so in some ways things were different for us. We had each dated several other people and even been in fairly serious relationships. We also had spent quite a bit of time dating many different people and not being in a serious relationship. These experiences contributed to who we were, by the time fate put us together.

I am not trying to sound like some kind of 'wise old father' speaking to his precious daughter, but I do hope to impart on all of my girls the importance of two things: (1) 'freedom' and 'space' in relationships; and (2) the importance of independence and spending time alone, not in a serious relationship. 

And by-the-way, I know you already understand this and I am very proud of you!

Love,

Dad

Staying whole - a story continued

Hey Sally,

You may remember I recently posted a story about my first Valentines with your mom. There was a picture of a card that I gave to her 25 Valentines ago.

I ended the post with this . . .

Shortly after that, she came to visit me in California and we went on a trip up the Pacific Coast. We had a picnic in a field near Mendocino, CA and I gave her a very special birthday present in a brown envelope. I have never told my children about that birthday present . . . stay tuned . . . stay whole.

In the brown envelope was a letter that I wrote and read to your mom on the picnic. It starts like this:

March 29, 2040. The early morning sun sparkles into the Pacific Ocean surf. A calm steady breeze brings life to wind chimes dangling from a beach front balcony. A seagull swoops down as if to peer into the room . . .

Page: Good morning sweetie and Happy Birthday. You look beautiful. How does it feel to be 80 years old?

Cathy: I feel great!

Page: You look great. Get dressed. I've got a surprise for you.

The dialog goes on for many pages. After I read it to her that day, we put it away and agreed that we would not read it again until March 29, 2040. Now a lot happened in our relationship between that day and when we eventually got married. I want to discuss one particular element of our 'courtship' a bit more over the next few days, as I think you will really relate to it.

Stay tuned . . . stay whole,

Dad

Staying fit in Austin

Contorted Goose

Hey Sally,

You would be so proud of Lucy and her continued passion for dance. She has been working super hard at her studio, and her flexibility and muscle tone are really improving. She has a series of core exercises that she does every day that are amazing!

Emily is also working out with a trainer, trying to strengthen her lower body and become more flexible. Mom continues her early morning boot camp series with Pam Browning and they are threatening to join a running club. Even 'ole dad has found his way back to the gym, training with Clay Arendes and some other guys over at the High School three mornings a week at 6 a.m. I  still get to the yoga studio 2-3 days a week as well for an hour of stretching and collecting my thoughts.

I know you are staying fit and eating healthy as well. That makes us proud. We are happy you are at Pop and BeBe's for the weekend. Give everybody our love!

We miss you,

Dad