Leaving Phoenix

Like migratory birds, we chased the sun and headed southwest to Phoenix where we nested from November through March - with the exception of Christmas.

Stepping out most winter mornings like a schoolgirl on holiday, I marveled at air so warm I could feel summer on my skin. The bluest skies and the lightest breezes filled my heart with prayer and gratitude.

What I didn't anticipate was how difficult it would be to leave Phoenix and the pretty little lake house that has all we need but much less than we have in Hinsdale. I will miss waking up to a lake view, walking around the neighborhood circle, dinners with Nick and Lizzy, sunset cruises, seeing family, hanging out with Jerry and Lanie and being surrounded by mountains so green they look unnatural for the desert. It's been a beautiful winter.

My Blooming Walk

The same 100-year rain that played havoc

with our roof is responsible for a rare and magnificent display of desert wildflowers

and blooming cactus. The spring season is beginning just as our time here is running

out, but I looked around one morning and

saw many pretty sights in the neighborhoods around Lakewood Circle.

I spied the Mexican gold poppies that light up the desert in a front yard near home.

Full Circle

ASU has changed immensely over the past thirty years, but one fact has remained the same – this is where I met my one true love. We moved in parallel universes - I was an English major; Jeff studied Industrial Design - but mutual friends formed a bridge to our meeting.

I heard Jeff’s voice long before I saw his face. In the days before cell phones and email, he would call our apartment phone to talk to my roommates Barb and Lisa about class assignments. Our first face-to-face encounter was when he picked Lisa up for a date.

Our second was at the wedding of another mutual friend. Family and friends packed the pews of the All Saints Catholic Newman Center in May 1976 to witness Mike and Melanie’s vows. Jeff spied Barb and Lisa in the crowd and sat with us – next to me. When the priest asked guests to give their neighbors the Sign of Peace, Jeff kissed me. I was bewildered, but secretly pleased at the same time. Later, I was full of anticipation when he sat at our table. But my hopes were quickly shattered when Jeff suddenly left the reception for a date with another girl (I later discovered).

Our first date was two weeks later. We were married in July 1977 and left Tempe after graduation in1978 to begin our careers in Orange County, California. Since then, we have lived in Miami and the Chicago.

As our first winter back in Phoenix draws to an end, we feel blessed that our life has come full circle and we’re still young and healthy enough to enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Ozzie!

Ozzie is one year old

this week.

He came to Phoenix in mid-November as a kitten.

Autumn in Hinsdale

Summer kitty

Homecoming Mid-May 2009