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2022 has finally felt like a year of forward progress. A very busy year, but definitely emerging from the uncertainty of the past few into new adventures and routines.
Dianna had a busy year working for the Boy Scouts again this year with highlights of leading Cub Day Camp Administration National Camp School and staffing National Camp School’s Aquatics session. Amidst a re-org late this year, Dianna has also been asked to sit in Cabinet and she looks forward to helping advise and guide not just outdoor programming, but Michigan scouting programming overall. Dianna has also been diligent in her martial arts training and was awarded her Red-Recommended belt in taekwondo this December: the final precursor to her Black Belt test next year.
Geoffrey continued serving as Interim Vice President of Technology for Kettering University this year including overseeing the outfitting and grand opening of a state-of-the-art new Learning Commons building. In January, he also enrolled in Kettering’s accelerated MBA program and, while it has been a massive amount of work (for Dianna as well as Geoff), it’s been instantly and incredibly useful in navigating his new responsibilities. Outside of work and classes, he still tried to find time to enjoy singing in the Caroline Mawby Chorale, barbequing, windsurfing, riding his motorcycle, and adventuring in his ‘95 Jeep Wrangler. (Well, until he blew it up in the fall. Rebuilding the transmission will have to wait until classes are done in the spring).
Winchester, now in 3rd grade, had a big year of new experiences. In just this year he learned to ice skate, joined the basketball team, learned to shoot his .22, got his first pocket knife as a Bear scout, has been learning wiring and electronics, earned his Blue belt in taekwondo, and even got the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers baseball game!
Rutherford, now in Kindergarten, is falling in step behind his brother. This year he joined Cub Scouts as a Lion, has been reading up a storm, became an enthusiastic hiker, lost his first teeth, soloed in his school’s spring concert, and sparred with his instructor to earn his Tiny Tiger Black Belt in taekwondo.
It’s been an emotional year for pets. We lost Bean suddenly to cancer in January at only 11 years old and Mewochelle passed away a few weeks later at less than 2 years old. Hammy, Dianna’s 3rd Corgi, whom we added last fall, has done wonders to fill our home with joy and silliness in their absence. Sam, now 4, has grown from a ‘cray-cray’ puppy into a sweet and demure companion worthy of continuing Bean’s legacy. Letzty, now 14, needed surgery to remove a malignant tumor just weeks after we lost our other two, but she has made a full recovery and then some as a playful Hammy continues to bring out the puppy in his ‘Grandma’. Lastly, after finding a 5-week old kitten in the road one night, we have added ‘Peter Catpaldi’ to the menagerie, despite Jodie Whitticat’s initial annoyance. (Extra credit if you understand the Doctor Who references). The boys have fallen in love with ‘Little Petey’ and are overjoyed with how he consistently greets them when they come home from school.
As a family, we’ve tried to fit in plenty of adventures among the new schedules. This year we joined family in Harvey’s Lake, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Toronto, Ohio, Corning NY (the Glass Museum is worth the trip), Disney World, and even got to share our North Campus with Geoff’s best friend and her family all the way from New Zealand! We explored new Michigan destinations, camped and canoed with scouts and friends, and spent many weekends Up North playing in the water. It was a busy (and often stressful) year but we are grateful for it and look forward to everything the new year will bring.