A friend I have not talked to for a while asked me about the kids. I wrote so much, I wanted to share. I skimmed the top and left out a lot. Here goes. I could not be happier for or prouder of my kids. They are all in dream land.
I think at some point, in her early 20's, Stephanie thought she might be a missionary all her life. Now, don't get me wrong. I know she would have been happy serving the Lord she loves so much anywhere in the world. She did a two week vision trip to Zambia one year and started a commitment in East Saint Paul with local group later. She had been a volunteer with the group for a few years. Somewhere in there she meet a dream she had not planned on, a dream that was 6'4" and head over heels in love with her. At his height, that must have been a sight to see. Over six months ago, my week-end conversations with Stephanie started being sprinkled with the name "John." Now mind you, we have talked for many years openly about many things, but this was the first time the same boy's name turned up so often. After they had been going out for about six months, I got the call. John called to ask permission for Stephanie's hand. Cool! I was honored to be asked and gladly gave him the only daughter I will ever have. They plan to live in the Twin Cities where Stephanie has been since she finished high school and went off to college. She works in a child development center as a teacher. John works in computer programming with a company that does retail point-of-sale systems. I suspect they will be very happy.
Chris was the first to get married back in 2003 at Christmas. He met Kristi, and in a few short weeks, they were engaged. My folks already had plans in the works to come down to Tyler for Christmas that year. Chris has such respect and love for them that he wanted Dad to do the service. It was a fun, small ceremony at Kristi's folks house. They have been working on degrees at the University of Texas at Tyler, Chris in theatre and Kristi in English. For years, Chris has had two passions, the boards and the breads. At one point, he started his own theatre company because he wanted to direct and the University was not giving him the chance. Arthur Miller is never easy, but Chris did a wonderful job with Broken Glass. I know, he cast me. The other dream was to have his own store to sell hand-crafted bread and all that goes with a bohemian bistro. Last Friday, he worked his last day at Starbuck's so he can give his full attention to working as the baker at The Cook's Stop, a new gourmet deli and bakery. The plan is for Chris and Kristi to manager the next store. The Twins, Val and Van, hope to open a new store every three to five years. The next store will be in the burbs of one of Texas' larger cities. They will have so much fun and, for me, will be only hours away instead of the days away the theatre night have taken them.
Nathan is right now in Washington, D.C. with the Archer Foundation as an Archer Fellow. Nathan started college as a theatre major. He and Chris started at UT Tyler together, Nathan as a freshmen and Chris a junior transfer. He was wonderful in The Fantastiks. I know he could have gone far in musical theatre if the program had been there to support him. (Chris just ignored the program and did what he needed to do.) Among the required classes was one with Dr. LeBlanc. The more LeBlanc classes he took, the more he realized how much he loved PoliSci. This is a kid who watched CSPAN for the fun of it. Early in the Fall semester, he found out about the Archer Fellowship. I watched anxiously as he filled out all the forms and prepped for the interviews. This year was the first year for the AF at UTT, so if he made it, he would be the first. The committee could not make up their minds, so they decided to find the money to send Nathan and another. Getting the fellowship was just the first hurdle. He still had to get an internship. He sent applications to NPR, the DNC, and several senators including Max from Montana. Rewind the tape for a moment back to the last presidential election. Nathan was so fed up with the Republicans, that he decided to move to Canada within a year of graduation. Bingo! The light went on, the Canadian Embassy! They called and then called again to upgrade him to the congressional relations internship. He is ecstatic!
Geoff has played violin since he was in third grade. I practiced with him the first year, but by the second, I was a drag on his progress. What a time trip when he started study with the same teacher I had when I was in school orchestra in the sixth grade. She was very young at the time. Geoff focused on each level and progressed well. Once we moved to Tyler, when he was at the end of the 5th grade, we found the Tyler Youth Orchestra. Geoff is in his seventh year with the program, two in the preparatory orchestra, moving up to the Youth Orchestra a year early as an 8th grader. He has variously been principal second, concert master, and co-concertmaster. Over the years, I have bought Mark O'Connor and Regina Carter for him to try to expand him past the classical mode. Well, I should have been patient. A little over a year ago, a friend asked him to sit in with an alternative country group looking to add a new spice to their sound. He started out tentatively as he explored the sound; this was new territory for him. Over the past year and a half, he has found his voice in a new form of music. I guess you could call him bilingual now. He speaks classical and country with equal ease and power. His current plan is to study violin and follow where is muse leads. I know where ever that is, he will bring joy and insight with him.
I think at some point, in her early 20's, Stephanie thought she might be a missionary all her life. Now, don't get me wrong. I know she would have been happy serving the Lord she loves so much anywhere in the world. She did a two week vision trip to Zambia one year and started a commitment in East Saint Paul with local group later. She had been a volunteer with the group for a few years. Somewhere in there she meet a dream she had not planned on, a dream that was 6'4" and head over heels in love with her. At his height, that must have been a sight to see. Over six months ago, my week-end conversations with Stephanie started being sprinkled with the name "John." Now mind you, we have talked for many years openly about many things, but this was the first time the same boy's name turned up so often. After they had been going out for about six months, I got the call. John called to ask permission for Stephanie's hand. Cool! I was honored to be asked and gladly gave him the only daughter I will ever have. They plan to live in the Twin Cities where Stephanie has been since she finished high school and went off to college. She works in a child development center as a teacher. John works in computer programming with a company that does retail point-of-sale systems. I suspect they will be very happy.
Chris was the first to get married back in 2003 at Christmas. He met Kristi, and in a few short weeks, they were engaged. My folks already had plans in the works to come down to Tyler for Christmas that year. Chris has such respect and love for them that he wanted Dad to do the service. It was a fun, small ceremony at Kristi's folks house. They have been working on degrees at the University of Texas at Tyler, Chris in theatre and Kristi in English. For years, Chris has had two passions, the boards and the breads. At one point, he started his own theatre company because he wanted to direct and the University was not giving him the chance. Arthur Miller is never easy, but Chris did a wonderful job with Broken Glass. I know, he cast me. The other dream was to have his own store to sell hand-crafted bread and all that goes with a bohemian bistro. Last Friday, he worked his last day at Starbuck's so he can give his full attention to working as the baker at The Cook's Stop, a new gourmet deli and bakery. The plan is for Chris and Kristi to manager the next store. The Twins, Val and Van, hope to open a new store every three to five years. The next store will be in the burbs of one of Texas' larger cities. They will have so much fun and, for me, will be only hours away instead of the days away the theatre night have taken them.
Nathan is right now in Washington, D.C. with the Archer Foundation as an Archer Fellow. Nathan started college as a theatre major. He and Chris started at UT Tyler together, Nathan as a freshmen and Chris a junior transfer. He was wonderful in The Fantastiks. I know he could have gone far in musical theatre if the program had been there to support him. (Chris just ignored the program and did what he needed to do.) Among the required classes was one with Dr. LeBlanc. The more LeBlanc classes he took, the more he realized how much he loved PoliSci. This is a kid who watched CSPAN for the fun of it. Early in the Fall semester, he found out about the Archer Fellowship. I watched anxiously as he filled out all the forms and prepped for the interviews. This year was the first year for the AF at UTT, so if he made it, he would be the first. The committee could not make up their minds, so they decided to find the money to send Nathan and another. Getting the fellowship was just the first hurdle. He still had to get an internship. He sent applications to NPR, the DNC, and several senators including Max from Montana. Rewind the tape for a moment back to the last presidential election. Nathan was so fed up with the Republicans, that he decided to move to Canada within a year of graduation. Bingo! The light went on, the Canadian Embassy! They called and then called again to upgrade him to the congressional relations internship. He is ecstatic!
Geoff has played violin since he was in third grade. I practiced with him the first year, but by the second, I was a drag on his progress. What a time trip when he started study with the same teacher I had when I was in school orchestra in the sixth grade. She was very young at the time. Geoff focused on each level and progressed well. Once we moved to Tyler, when he was at the end of the 5th grade, we found the Tyler Youth Orchestra. Geoff is in his seventh year with the program, two in the preparatory orchestra, moving up to the Youth Orchestra a year early as an 8th grader. He has variously been principal second, concert master, and co-concertmaster. Over the years, I have bought Mark O'Connor and Regina Carter for him to try to expand him past the classical mode. Well, I should have been patient. A little over a year ago, a friend asked him to sit in with an alternative country group looking to add a new spice to their sound. He started out tentatively as he explored the sound; this was new territory for him. Over the past year and a half, he has found his voice in a new form of music. I guess you could call him bilingual now. He speaks classical and country with equal ease and power. His current plan is to study violin and follow where is muse leads. I know where ever that is, he will bring joy and insight with him.
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