Shayna (16) was busy being Goth Chic, Leah (15) was treading the fine line between Goth and Hippie, and Miriam (14) was a Candy Raver Punk. Miriam, spikes and all, represented the Ann Arborites in Potsdam for Passover, while Nathaniel and Trina stayed around for Shayna's maneuvering through the juvenile court system. (She got free of it fairly quickly.)
Trina took another trip out west, this time to raft down (and study!) the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Crater National Monument. Very cool.
We took another vacation, this time to Hawaii, where Nathaniel was a keynote speaker for a conference on the future of the internet in education. We spent time on Hawaii, Oahu, and Maui, parasailing, scuba diving, looking at volcanoes, and walking through the jungle. Shayna believes Maui may be the prettiest place in the world. I certainly wouldn't argue with that.
Daniel moved to West Virginia to be with Melissa, and over Thanksgiving/Chanukah, they became officially engaged. Melissa's parents are Presbyterian, her brother is a Muslim, and her brother's in-laws are Baptists. And all of us went to Cleveland to celebrate Thanksgiving (and the engagement) together. It was a very American experience.
Leah landed roles in nearly every play at her high school, and was marvelous. At last, a venue where all her creative dramatic impulses were appropriate and appreciated! She shone. At the same time, her painting began to blossom.
And speaking of blossoming, Trina dug a pond in the backyard, and started the process of laying flag stone everywhere nothing else would grow (which was nearly everywhere). Although this took two years to complete, it was great fun and well worth it. The backyard not only looks fabulous, but far less mud gets tracked inside nowadays. Meanwhile, up in Greenbush, we indulged ourselves with a new breezeway, deck, and gazebo, which gave us a good place for our wonderfully decadent new hot tub.
Meanwhile, Shayna was partially on her own, going to school and working; Leah transcended neo-Hippie and returned to her true Bohemian/bag lady self, and Miriam was dropping her Punk aspects for Hippie-er ones.
Remember Nathaniel's relaxing and taking better care of himself? He jumped head first into an oh-so-temporary role at another startup, NetPOS.com, where at the writing of this letter he remains.
