Ginny’s CT days

Jim has been doing such a great job chronicling our trip.  I love the journalist in him.  Although out of practice writing and using WP,  I feel compelled to jump in for this stretch of the trip, as it touches over 45 years of my life.  I’m still trying to find the words to describe all the emotions.  It’s nearly impossible but is long overdue.

Saying goodbye to Gwen and the Klinkes in Maine in early October was significant, as we were now over half way through our “year on the road” and we had made it to the farthest point on the east coast that we would be traveling.

We paused as we drove away from our waterfront spot, in awe, again, about the beauty we are seeing and the depth of shared time we are experiencing with each other and those in our lives. The weather had started to turn. Cool crisp air, leaves changing colors, socks and fleece are now in the front of the closet.

Looking back:

My family and I moved to Rustic Lane in Westport, CT in 1972 when I was 11 years old. I basically spent the next 40 years living in or around Fairfield County. I was an athlete. We sailed on Long Island Sound. I lifeguarded on the town beaches. I enjoyed our busy family life.  I was the youngest of my parents’ four kids, and I benefited from friendships and relationships that we all had. I went to college at Ohio Wesleyan, then returned to CT where I met Bob and started a life in Stratford, CT in 1986, where we lived and had Gwen and Coley before moving to Weston in 1992. Greg joined us in 1995.  It was there that my circle of friendship comes to light and shines brighter each year. Work, ball fields, PTO, senior lunches, Young Women’s Club,  field trips, babysitters, golf rounds and more filled our time.  I’m struck by how the years have gone by, the changes that have taken place, and the familiar friendships that naturally fall into place. We all (the greater all) grew up together in Weston.  We’ve shared in each other’s joys and sadnesses – graduations, marriages, grandchildren, relocation,  retirement and all the spaces in between, including supporting those with illnesses and the loss of loved ones.

It has been over four years since I moved to Washington (almost five for Jim), yet as we drove old neighborhoods and visited people in our lives, we were constantly reminded of the times we shared and the place that so many special friends still occupy in our lives, both then and now.  We saw things through different lenses.  It sounds dramatic.. and truthfully, it was.  Sadly, we didn’t get to see everyone we were hoping to.  One big reason to come back!

In our now blended lives, (11 years) Jim and I understand and value each other’s separate pasts and how they helped get us to where we are today – sharing a journey of a life time. #luckyinlove

A sampling of our walk down memory lane: