A Much Needed Interlude With My Siblings

The Salt Lake Valley

When Ann and I and our kids moved to Southern California in 1994, we did so to enable me to be where the used clothing industry was centered in the western United States.  At that time, Ann's parents and a cousin were living in Orange County, and we would visit routinely.  Her father passed away not many years after but there was still Grandma Paxman to visit.  Grandma's physical and mental health began to deteriorate and after being placed in an assisted living facility in OC and living there a few years, Ann and her siblings decided that it was best for her to be near Ann's brother Rick and his wonderful wife, Amy, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

We moved after 10 years from the Santa Clarita Valley to Los Angeles, and specifically to Mt. Washington, in 2004.  What a wonderful house it was, but as the nest emptied, we decided to move to a smaller, lest costly home.  In January of 2010, we moved to our current little rambler in Tujunga, built and formerly owned, by the way, by the aunt of the famous pop singer Neil Diamond. (Neighbors tell us that in his getting started years, Neil Diamond would sleep nights in a particular bedroom of this, Aunt Sylvia's home.  As such, we have picture on the wall in the very room which is now where we watch TV.)

What I am writing about today is that in September, 2011, our four children no longer live with us (two are still in Southern California while one is in Washington state and the other lives in New York.  And while Ann's cousin Vic and his great wife Eleanor still live in Orange County, we have NO extended family.   This has been a challenging transition for me.  I sometimes wish that Ann and I could just jump in the car on a Saturday afternoon and drive a few miles to visit my brother Tom or my sister Darlene.  But alas, the Wasatch Front in Utah is a good nine hour drive from where we live.

One of the reasons for downsizing our living arrangement was to have money with which to spend on visiting farflung kids and extended family.  We have been able to do so, and that takes some of the sting out of being far away.  So I am excited to be able to attend a convention next week in cojunction with my profession being held in Salt Lake City, and then be able to spend time with my siblings in the evenings.   I'll likely be spending the nights with one of them, going out to dinner, and even attending a BYU football game on Friday night.  (Goooooo Cougars!!!)  Going to this convention allows me to write off traveling expenses as I spend much needed emotional connecting time with my siblings and their spouses.  I smile just thinking about it....