Regarding Hope

Below is my Holiday letter to family and friends...

Regarding Hope

We use the word 'hope' perhaps more often than any other word in the vocabulary: 'I hope it's a nice day.’ 'Hopefully, you're doing well.’ 'So how are things going along? Pretty good. Going to be good tomorrow? Hope so.'
Studs Terkel

(1912-2008)

When we reflect on the passing of 2008, we are anxious for it to be over.

Jackie’s father passed away in April after seven months of rehabilitation from heart surgery and assorted complications. His suffering was protracted and his death was tragic, but his passing was filled with hope. Just a few weeks prior to his passing, Jack called together his friends and family for a “Hallelujah Party.” He wanted everyone he knew to understand just how much he appreciated their love and friendship over the years. His party was a grand success.

I could go into details chronicling other misfortunes from 2008, but this is a hopeful (and faithful) time of year. So instead, I’m bringing you a slice of beauty this season.

Over the summer, just as gasoline prices peaked at close to $5.00 a gallon, we decided to pack up the family and head off on a grand expedition to Maine. Our goal was to get away as a family and have an adventure together. We knew that with Sam and Callan getting older, this would most likely be the last time we would be able to take a grand family vacation.

Our trip to Maine fulfilled every expectation. We loaded the same vehicle that took us across the United States in 2003, our Dodge Grand Caravan, with luggage and gasoline and headed north. We spent several days exploring Acadia National Park along the coast. Acadia is the most beautiful place I’ve ever visited, more so than the peaks in Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, The Pacific Coast, and the rolling ridges of the Allegheny’s. We stayed just on the outskirts of Bar Harbor and spent lots of hours walking from shop to shop and watching the sunset in that beautiful town. The first evening we spent there, we raced up nearby Cadillac Mountain to catch the sunset at about 8:00. From the rocky-knobbed summit of this highest point on the east coast of North America, you have an unfettered 360-degree view stretching from the distant termination of the Appalachian chain to the west to the Atlantic Ocean just to the east. We were back up atop that mountain again the following morning to catch the sunrise at 4:30am. On that day in July, we were among the first people in America to see the sunrise.

Our trip also included a delightful mountain bike expedition along the endless carriage roads throughout the park and a kayak excursion around the small islands in Bar Harbor. We leisurely cruised the Maine coast through Searsport, Belfast, Lincolnville, and Rockland before turning toward Portland and the home of some good friends. After visiting and dining in the city then Lobstering in the harbor, we invested in oil stock to make our way home again.

Callan is in the midst of her senior year in high school. She has narrowed her choices to three fine in-state universities and hopes to hear from them soon. Earlier in the year, Callan was elected to be president of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter, elected to become a member of the National Honor Society, and appointed to serve as school ambassador at Northside High. These days, Callan is immersed in swim season. She’s the captain of her swim team, and she has been fortunate to be the student assistant for the swim team coach. In addition to swimming, Callan is beginning to prepare for her final piano recital in May. Her outlook for 2009 is hopeful.

Sam is entering the second semester of his junior year at Virginia Tech. He was recently appointed to one of the top leadership positions in his battalion in the VT Corps of Cadets for second semester. This position carries with it a major perk-a room all to himself. At the beginning of the school year, Sam was in charge of new cadets for his company and earned the Diamond Award for Leadership. During the summer, Sam spent ten days at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training center in the rugged mountains of California. He also spent the summer coaching the City of Charlottesville swim team. Sam enters 2009 feeling confident that he made the right choice in hitching his future alongside the U.S. Marine Corps. He’s looking forward with resolute hopefulness.

In these difficult times, we choose to look toward the future. We wish you beauty and prosperity, a hopeful prayer.

Thom

Hope is the most exciting thing there is in life.

Mandy Moore

To hope is to believe.

thoconde28

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