Ed Kennell 38,128 #1 Posted December 22, 2023 Yesterday was a roller coaster of emotions with the day starting with a sad goodby at the funeral of one of our hunting camp members. Then to our lifelong friends for our daily visit. She has been wheelchair bound and suffering from dementia for 5 years. He is being challenged with the 24/7 care she requires. Then the frustration of the crowd and long lines at the grocery store. Then to the gym for an hour sweat and tension relief. Then back home to get ready for the early Christmas Party for Owen. Our youngest Grandson, Owen, is in his 3rd year and a manager for the Penn State football team. He came home yesterday after spending a week packing two 53' semis with the teams uniforms, pads, weight and training equipment, and Christmas tree , decorations, and gifts for the staff families that will be spending Christmas in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. He went back to Penn State this AM to prepare for the Sat. team flight to Atlanta. Owen will be with the team in Atlanta till after the game next Sat. and then pack it all up for the move back to Happy Valley. His parents and Brother will be joining him next week at the game. Needless to say, we are very proud of Owen for working his way thru school. He is a business major with a 3.6 GPA. I suspect he will be employed by Penn State after graduation. His father also graduated from Penn State with a Mechanical Engineering degree. His brother, Clayton, will graduate from Penn State this spring with an Accounting degree and a 4.0 GPA. Clayton also works for Penn State organizing the schedule of events in the indoor Bryce Jordan Center. Our oldest Grandson, Reed, graduated from Penn State in 2020 with degrees in Astro Physics and Astro Engineering. He also worked at PSU year round analyzing and cataloging Hubbel Telescope photos of new stars. He worked for a couple years at the Hershey Medical Center and is now doing his Astro Physics Graduate work at Lehigh University while working as a Prof. assistant. Our fourth Grandson, Jake, will graduate from Gettysburg College this spring with degrees in Music and Environmental Science. He has been very involved in marching, concert, and jazz bands at G burg. He will probably be returning to his High School in some capacity in teaching music and band directing. It was a great early Christmas Eve with Owen last evening and I am looking forward to spending time with my other three Grandsons on Sundays Christmas Eve. Sorry for the long post, but as I walk down the final leg of my trail, I am so pleased to see these youngsters starting the hike on such a positive note. Hoping for a Merry Christmas for You and Your Family. 1 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Racinbob 11,048 #2 Posted December 22, 2023 No apology needed Ed. Beautiful and touching post. Merry Christmas to you and your family. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,210 #4 Posted December 22, 2023 (edited) 22 hours ago, Ed Kennell said: ...the final leg of my trail, I am so pleased to see these youngsters starting the hike... You capture it well, Ed, thanks. I took a hike a couple weeks ago to a spot near me where the view is amazing. The guide noted this was among the few places where one could see in one glance the results of three distinct eras in geological history, the oldest many millions of years old and the newest only a few tens of thousands. I took a moment to remind myself how brief my lifespan is against that kind of time. Yet, we each and every one of us do matter. The parents of those “grands” of yours probably got some good parenting somewhere along the way, too. 😉 Edited December 23, 2023 by Handy Don 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPINJIM 1,981 #5 Posted December 22, 2023 4 hours ago, Ed Kennell said: as I walk down the final leg of my trail Nice posting Ed. They build the 'trails' longer now than they once did. Stay as active as you are, and look forward to seeing great-grandchildren on life's trail. I'm very blessed to have three great-grandchildren, and hope to see many more. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Jim 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites