Glancing Back & Moving Forward

While this past year certainly provided challenges for many of our friends and families, we know everyone is looking forward to the new year and all the hope and expectations for a fresh start.

This month marks a year that we moved from the hustle of Brooklyn, NYC to live full-time in Michigan. Happily, every season at the lake is special and beautiful in its own way. From delicate wildflowers in spring to the first snowfall, we love our new rural lifestyle.

In April, we are expecting our second grandchild – a baby girl! We know George is going to be the best big brother. We have fully embraced our new role as grandparents and have been lucky to be with our family here in Michigan and many visits to upstate New York for his first birthday, Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday.

We broke ground on our new house in late July and have enjoyed watching our dream and the architectural plans come to life right before our eyes. We hope to be moved in by springtime and look forward to hosting guests this coming summer.

This past November, Marc’s sister Beth passed away and we’ve decided to hold a celebration of life at Windover Lake on July 3rd to ensure her memory and one-of-a-kind spirit is honored at the place she loved so much.

We truly wish you and yours the spirit of the holiday season all throughout the new year as every day is a gift regardless how it’s wrapped.

In loving memory

Beth Ann Eesley

1965 - 2020

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

OK, here’s a confession…I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Christmas holiday. For many years, this time of year left me a sense of sadness instead of what I was supposed to feel based on the hype driven by retailers and the media. And then there’s the music, it’s sometimes so maudlin and forlorn filled with lyrics pining for a loved one that won’t make it for the holidays. I figured I had just grown up and the excitement for the holiday was just meant for kids.

Meeting Marc and experiencing that first Christmas together and many after, we celebrated together with a movie and Chinese food. It was a day off from work, a day when the city always seemed oddly quiet. And then the day after Christmas seemed like such a bust. All that revving up for the holiday and forced anticipation is gone. Poof! Kind of a letdown really.

There are aspects about the holiday season that I do like – the gathering of friends and family and the special dinners. This year’s unwanted friend – thanks CoVid – has put a kibosh on many gatherings and that’s a pile of coal that keeps growing.

Now that we have a grandson, I’m looking at the holiday with fresh eyes. I see his wonderment when he looks at the tree, twinkling lights, and the sparkly ornaments. The gathering of the family this year is smaller and the meals shared will be even more special. Little George is quite a good eater too. He’s loving ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, and even beets! He has made his Chef Grandpa very happy and has ignited a twinkle in my eye.

Happy Holidays!

Travel Bug

Here we are in the month of December and the holidays are racing towards us as well as the close of this unimaginable year. Yes, I think we can all agree 2020 has been a doozy. Restrictions, closings, travel bans all de rigueur aspects of this past year.

From an early age, the idea of traveling to faraway places was thrilling to me. Foreign places, new languages, regional cuisines – all seemed so exciting and I was fascinated with reading maps and learning where different countries were located on the globe. I do wonder where that traveling spark came from, who in my life inspired me to be so curious about far off places? Maybe it was just an innate feeling that I needed to quench.

These days, both domestic and international travel are complicated and strictly limited. I miss going to new destinations. Marc and I both love to travel but it just hasn’t been a normal year for anyone. Arriving in a new city can sometimes be quite daunting, depending on the language, currency, and customs. Travel is an adventure, sometimes difficult, but what I find the most rewarding is the opportunity to learn about the people and places we visit. I’ve always been inquisitive about the how and why traditional customs and cuisines become the common threads in the fabric of daily life. Then there are those memories and stories that last longer than a photograph or souvenir.

One of my bucket list items was to see the Northern Lights. Last year, we had the incredible experience seeing them dance in the night sky in Reykjavik, Iceland.

With visits to 20 countries, 31 U.S. states, and countless world-class cities, my sense of adventure and current passport are ready to get onboard once we are cleared for takeoff.