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25 August 2002
Hello Again,
It looks like our monthly newsletter is going to turn into an every-other-month newsletter. I can hear the cheers from here.
Let’s see – several significant events occurred over the last two months (from our perspective that is…). Christopher started pre-school on the 22d of August – which also happened to be my 41st birthday; we held our promotion bash at the Hickam O-club on the 17th of August (me and six other promotees); and we scheduled our first trip to the mainland as a family in over two years.
Christopher started pre-school at St John’s Catholic last week. He’s thrilled about going back into a classroom environment (he enjoyed half-day preschool in Misawa). We opted for one more year of pre-school instead of rushing him into kindergarten as a 4-year-old (he turns five in November). He would never have met the age requirement for kindergarten this year in most states – including DOD schools – but Hawaii is – well – different. Of course we think he is more than ready to meet the rigors of kindergarten this year – but the thought of Christopher going into his senior year of high school as a 16 year-old isn’t appealing. We believe the extra year will give him a better chance of being more of a leader than a follower in academics and sports. Time will tell.
Thanks to continuing swim lessons this summer along with the daily swims in our back yard and the weekend trips to the beach, Christopher has become quite a fish. Freestyle, backstroke, diving, and underwater swimming (not to mention cannon-ball splashes) are becoming second-nature to Christopher. The fact that he is tall and lean enhances his ability to squirt through the water. With both of us in swim fins and pulling through the water with free-style strokes, Christopher is already challenging me for speed (of course I float like a brick).
The little guy also amuses us with his interest in chess. My status as Howard household chess champion isn't yet at risk – but I have to pay attention to ensure he doesn’t outmaneuver me for a turn or two. He also has a seemingly endless interest in playing other board games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I can stomach a few games of Chutes and Ladders – but one game of Candyland per week is my limit.
Thank goodness Patti still enjoys her role as a stay-at-home Mom. I’d never make it through a work-week without Patti keeping me and the house organized. And of course the ability for her to care for and interact with Christopher every day is priceless. Hopefully now that Christopher has started pre-school Patti can spend some of her time rediscovering the violin and start planning local trips/vacations. A couple of the military bases on Oahu offer beach-front camping sites and well-equipped cottages at minimal cost. Sounds like fun! We also need to get to the big island (Hawaii) to see the lava flows before they subside.
Patti took me to the Crouching Lion restaurant for my birthday – a popular restaurant on the Windward side of the island. It is about as far from Mililani as you can get without jumping into a boat – about an hour each way. But the sunset drive along the North shore getting there was worth the trouble. Of course dining on the lanai overlooking the Pacific at sunset was nice also. Just another day in paradise. Oh – I also received gadgets for my birthday. Patti and Christopher gave me an ARCHOS 20 Gigabyte MP3 player. For the non-geeks on distribution for this letter - this thing is the size of a deck of cards – though a bit heavier – and it will hold over 500 albums worth of music. I’ve already pumped about 100 of my favorite CDs into it and I really enjoy the ability to build tailored playlists – or to sort by genre, artist, or album name. Incredible. I also bought myself a Toshiba Pocket PC – model E310. Amazon.com had an incredible sale that pushed me over the edge – basically bringing a $400 unit down to $160 after rebates and purchase incentives. Another amazing device. Terrific color screen displaying hundreds of pictures, dozens of music files, downloadable books, total compatibility with Microsoft Office suites and automatically synching to web-based news services through your home computer. Christopher like to play chess against the Pocket PC – which is just that – it fits in your hand and is about 1/3” thin.
Travel plans are set for our first trip to the “mainland” (God forbid you say you’re going back to the states) in over two years. I’ll be at Fort Meade on business from 23-27 September so we thought we’d take advantage of the trip and coordinate family travel as well. We depart Oahu on 13 September and roll into Dunlap, Iowa to see my family on the afternoon of the 14th. On the 19th we travel to Baltimore where we’ll spend the night and drive to Philadelphia the next day to see Patti’s family. I’ll spend Friday and Saturday in PA and will drive back to Baltimore on Sunday to get ready for the work-week. Patti and Christopher will join me in Baltimore later in the week and we’ll return to Hawaii on Saturday the 28th.
Life in the office is hectic but rewarding. Strangely – we don’t have a work week here. Most people work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Well – my work week is more like “Monday-thru-Friday.” Say that as fast as you can – Monday-thru-Friday. Say it faster. OK – that is what my work week is like. It is ONE thing – inseparable into sub-component days. Weird. Several of my co-workers see it the same way. I’ve never experienced anything like it before – though I’ve certainly worked longer hours in spurts before. Maybe it is working underground that does it – or the quarter-mile walk through a tunnel to get to my office.
We’re having friends over for swimming and grilling today – so I better check the propane tank and the beer fridge.
Hope to see some of your during our trip east.
Terry, Patti, and Christopher
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