The Celebrations continue!
We celebrated our 59th wedding anniversary, on January 10, with the family in the course of two days; with a delicious dinner at a new Mexican restaurant the night before, when everybody could make it, and with phone calls, cards, a special delivery of two bottles of my favorite champagne and a lovely flower arrangement. On Sunday, we invited the family for brunch and celebrated our youngest grandson’s tenth birthday, a milestone for him.
I prepared for another presentation on Monday, this time on a small scale, for a bible study group at the Methodist church close by, where I had spoken for the Men’s breakfast group more than a year ago. By small scale I mean not in a large auditorium with a large screen and a projector, but in a smaller room with a TV. The same tech that helped me the first time was there again to set me up with the TV. He had the cords, I had the adapter, and everything worked, including the sound. These days, I have learned to do the slide presentation including the trailer, straight from my iPad, which is easy to take in my little attaché case, together with Mamma’s journal and some handouts.
My presentations vary, based on the audience and the time I get to speak. In December, I spoke for 30 minutes for the largest Cary Rotary, and the presentation, I felt, was sort of businesslike, just perfect, one of the best I had done. This time, when I stopped – at the end of WWII – after thirty minutes, but said I could show more of the years after the war, they all asked me to please continue, and I did, for about another half hour, then answered many questions. That is always a joy, because it means that the audience was genuinely interested and had listened closely enough that they were questioning some things.
So this time, my presentation was more personal, and there was time to tell the stories of the wedding bible and the little boy who died on his way to the Netherlands after surviving the whole long war as a toddler.
Afterwards, two pieces of chocolate cake came back home with me and, since I could not resist the temptation and ate them half an hour before dinnertime, I ended up taking a nap and have dinner at home instead. That meant soup and crackers, because I don’t cook anymore, but Mike is always happy with whatever I serve, and always cares about my wishes. What a jewel he is!
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny