One Year After Spain

As you may notice, it is no longer Travel 2007. It is hard to believe yet it seems so long ago, that one year ago many of us were preparing for a two-week adventure in Spain. But, life moves on and so shall this blog (but not the scrapbooks yet).

An exciting event in the life of my family has been the birth of my great nephew, Joshua Daniel Schmierer, on August 7, 2007 in Castro Valley, CA. He was a joy and delight as I joined Elizabeth and her family for Christmas this past year. Since then, my life and that of my father has changed dramatically.

In January 2008 it was discovered that he suffers from age-related memory loss as well as vascular dementia. After enduring a great deal of turbulence, he moved into the Norman Veteran's Center on March 13, 2008. The turbulence was lessened with a visit from Elizabeth and Holly in late January for Joshua to meet his Great Granddaddy. His great grandfather fell in love with the little guy and enjoys frequent photo updates and stories of Joshua's development. (recent photo of going to his first rodeo parade)

My father seems to be settling in to the center and adjusting very well. He now reads a great deal and enjoys visits and outings to baseball games, out for meals, or just a ride in the car. I see him several times each week and am available anytime. He truly enjoys the interaction with people again and the staff of the VA center.

My niece Jeannie O'Brien is visiting May 30-June 1; her aunt can hardly wait!

I promise that updates will be more frequent than one a year. And yes, the next trip abroad with our traveling group is planned for France in 2010.