Warm wishes for the end of this year and the beginning of 2012! This year, as always, has been busy with new adventures and learning.
Teresa kicked off the year by learning that she had received tenure in Communication at Hope College. She knew that the decision was probably in the affirmative, but it is still nice to receive the final word.
The rest of the spring semester went well with three classes in magazine production, cultural theory, and rhetorical criticism. One semester highlight was a breakfast that Teresa hosted on campus for the television screening of the British Royal Wedding. The wedding occurred on Greenwich Mean Time, of course, so the breakfast began at 5 a.m. and continued through about 8 a.m. More than 25 Hope students attended the event that included a wedding cake, breakfast muffins, and mimosas (non-alcoholic for the campus event). A local news crew came out to cover the event as part of the area’s local Royal Wedding parties.
We did little to our home this year other than routine maintenance gardening and painting. One highlight included the purchase of a wooden daybed and matching bureau for one of the upstairs bedrooms. The daybed is piled with quilts and pillows, and is perfect for a nap on a cloudy day or reading anytime. A long-term plan is to begin replacing the older windows in our home. It is unbelievable how expensive the project would be.
There were no international trips this year, but we made various trips around the U.S. Timothy had several trips this past year. He returned this past August to do service work at Greenpoint Reformed Church in Brooklyn with Hope Church’s youth group. Greenpoint does excellent outreach work among various marginalized populations in the area. Timothy also traveled to Seattle earlier this year to visit friends. It’s such an excellent city and we have plans to travel in that area at some point.
During this past summer, Teresa made trips to North Carolina, Virginia, and St. Louis. Early in the summer, Teresa traveled to Myrtle Beach, North Carolina for a weekend away with two girlfriends from Chicago and two from the Indianapolis area. They had a great time talking and sharing glasses of wine while overlooking the beach from their hotel room. The trips were an excellent break from the busy work-time grind.
In late July, Teresa visited Ashland, Virginia for probably the last time for a communication conference. During her previous two visits to the small city, she had grown to enjoy the Southern-style cuisine and local coffeehouse. The area’s intense humidity, though, was not as welcomed, but luckily the host college’s indoor track was air-conditioned and quite luxurious, actually.
Teresa traveled to St. Louis in early August for a national communication convention. For an extra twist, she took the trip by train from Chicago. It was fascinating to see the small railroad towns along the way and to approach the city by train. Teresa lucked out by finding an incredible deal on a historic boutique hotel in the city’s center. It was incredible to explore the hotel’s beautiful lobby and read about its history.
During the St. Louis visit, it was wonderful to spend time with a journalism graduate school friend, Jennifer, and to reflect on their Missouri days and lives since then. We had drinks at the restaurant overlooking the lake in Forest Park near Washington University. Seeing Jennifer’s beautiful new house was an extra bonus! On a free afternoon, Teresa took a solo trip to the 1904 World’s Fair exhibition at one of the museums there. Having just read a historical fiction book that took place during the World’s Fair, it was fascinating to see some of the items mentioned in the book in their actual context.
The fall semester began with Teresa’s year-long sabbatical. Trips to Phoenix (September), New Oreans (November for a conference), and upstate New York (early December) broke up the otherwise quiet and relaxing months. The sabbatical was certainly quiet and relaxing, with many weeks available for writing and reading. It was amazing to see the seasons change from the quiet of the upstairs study. Although writing is not going as quickly as she hoped (it never does), Teresa still managed to co-edit one book with her friend, Vickie Harvey, which was published in October. The year’s activity will certainly speed up, however. Three journal articles are currently in writing process, and two more are coming next year. There are also two new courses to write for Fall 2012 and a trip to New Zealand in Spring 2012 to teach journalism at Massey University.
As this year ends, we wish you peace and all the best for the coming year!
Recent Comments