As we come to the end of 2023, I can’t help but reflect. There were some things about this year that were absolutely wonderful since I did more traveling than I’ve ever done in my life and I had so many adventures!
But…there was so much loss:
- January there was a flood in my Sun Valley condo due to a faulty plumbing issue. The damage caused us to lose what could have been a nice friendship with the neighbors below since they were very angry. There was work done on our condo and all is back to normal inside, but it is still sad that we lost a friendship over the damage the flood caused.
- In February, my penpal, Debbie Knauss Hackman, who I have been in touch with since 1979, died of a massive heart attack. It just happened so suddenly and broke my heart. She had been a part of my life for so long that I felt that a part of me was taken away.
- Also, in February, a person who I treasured a friendship with decided to take a break from me. I took that loss, even though she said it was temporary, so hard.
- My dear cousin Harold Buchman’s father Bill Buchman died unexpectedly on February 6, 2023. Bill had been a part of my life since I was a baby. I love Harold and his wife Carolyn so much and was so sad to hear the news of Harold’s father’s passing.
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| Here is a wonderful photos memory of me, my Daddy, Harold’ father Bill, my husband Dan, and Harold. |
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| My husband Dan smiles with his mom who died on March 3, 2023 |
- Also, in March, my close friend Scott Rubin died. Scott had been such a support and was a wonderful man.
- On March 12, 2023, Donnie Might died after a brief and unexpected illness. Donnie and his twin sister Debbie had been skating friends from my Broadmoor days in the 1970s. I was devastated for Debbie since she was so close with Donnie and her wonderful parents have also passed away.
- On April 4, 2023, my first skating partner, Corey Isenberg, who had been like family since I was 13 years old, died. I didn’t find out about his death until July though.
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| Corey and Jo Ann in 1969 |
- Also in April, I heard of the death of Jim Short, who I coached skating with in Southern California.
- In the spring of 2023, a friend of mine’s 26 year old son died suddenly. I was just so devastated for him and his wife.
- Also, in April of 2023, another close friend of mine’s 25 year old daughter took her own life. What was really hard was my friend had already lost her husband to ALS and she’d already lost a son. I was so, so sad for her and shared much of her pain.
- In June, our car was stolen from a storage facility in Colorado Springs. I felt so vulnerable knowing that the thieves had been released from jail and that such a thing could happen. I experienced a lot grief related to theft since only 162 PT Cruisers like the one we had in the seamist green color were ever made. I thought the car would be impossible to replace.
- My planned summer in Sun Valley was delayed due to the car theft, and then when I finally was able to head to Sun Valley, on one of my solo drives to Sun Valley during the summer, I had numerous car troubles with the replacement car (which looked almost exactly like the car that was stolen) and I was in a car accident when the car went out of control in Wyoming. In summary, I didn’t get to spend much time in Sun Valley.
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| This is the replacement car - Dan and I went to Virginia to pick it up and drove it back to Colorado |
- My trip to California was canceled due to the multiple car troubles and so I wasn’t able to see my husband Dan for a couple of months. (I also didn’t get to see my friend Marion, my friend Darlene, my friend Rosie, my friend Rhonda, and others. I was so sad.)
- In September, one of the people, Al Hackel, who was such a wonderful part of the Wood River Jewish Community died. His wife Brenda has dementia and is now in memory care.
- Of course, October 7 happened in Israel and I know people who have been affected. My daughter Annabelle and her fiance Ben know people who have been killed and captured. They have friends who are fighting too. Annabelle went to Israel this summer to lead a back packing trip for teens and I’m so glad she was not in Israel on October 7th. Our former Colorado Springs rabbi, Don Levy, lives in Ashkelon, Israel, so we are getting updates from him like we are there.
- In late October, the father and grandfather of my friends Joe Uveges and Katie Uveges died. Katie is my massage therapist in Colorado Springs. She and her father Joe are just wonderful people. I was so sad to hear of their loss.
- On November 7, 2023, Connor Morris, the younger brother of Parker Morris who had done work on both my Sun Valley condo and my son Joel’s Sun Valley condo, died unexpectedly. I was so sad for Parker and his family since Connor was only 26 years old.
- In November my dear friend Gina Moss died. I took her loss so, so hard. Gina had been such a supportive friend to me for almost two decades.
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| My good friend Gina Moss |
- Also, in November, a close friend of mine was moved from her home into an assisted living facility. I took that hard since she moved to a place far away from where I can’t routinely visit her. I care about her and hope this move is not the beginning of a quick decline since she is almost 90 years old.
- Right after Thanksgiving 2023, on November 27, my good friend Ruth Cooperman’s husband Michael Tate died. She was a special part of my Temple Israel in Long Beach family and I’d spent quality time with her and her husband and son.
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| Miss my Daddy… |
- December 13, 2023 was the two year anniversary of my father’s death and it has hit me hard about how much changed in my life since his death: Little did I know that my life and my family’s life would change so much due to his death: Not only did I lose my father who I loved and cared for until the end of his life, but I lost the life our family had with him in both Long Beach and at his beautiful home in Colorado and I pretty much lost the relationship I had with my sister and brother and their families. The anniversary of this loss is hard for me and that is why I ski and skate and scooter and travel a lot since it seems to be the best “bandage” to deal with grief and loss.
- In December, the friend who had wanted to take a break from me, reconnected with me which made me so happy, but soon after I learned she didn’t want the relationship we once had. That made me so sad, since I really enjoyed her friendship.
- On December 11, 2023 my good friend Margar’s mother died. I was so sad for her.
- On December 27, 2023, my childhood friend Sara Morgan Wade died after a short battle with lung cancer. Sadly, Sarah’s son Aaron died suddenly in 2020. Sara and I had been friends since I was eight years old. I was shocked and so, so sad.
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| My childhood friend Sara Morgan Wade is the second girl from the left and I’m on the far right |
There were other losses too which I will probably add to this blog post.
Next, I will list some the absolutely wonderful things that happened in 2023:
- I went to Europe for the first time in my life! In late March-early April I went to the UK (Scotland and London) and also Ireland.
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| Passover in London |
- I met relatives in person in London who I’d never met face to face and my daughter Rebekah and I had a wonderful Passover in London with cousins Deborah, Sarah, and Harry Wald and their families.
- I got to see my daughter Rebekah so the hostess role in Disney On Ice when the show was in Adelaide, Australia and I also got to see her perform in Glasgow, Scotland!
- When Dan and I went to the east coast to pick up the replacement car, on the way back we saw some dear and close friends including Lynn Wein McCoy and her husband Wayman, Mary and Lyman Davis, June and Bill Pysto, and Lori Baron. Seeing each one of them was a major highlight!
- I skied and skied and skied! I got to ski at places I’d never skied before like Steamboat, Winter Park (in the peak season), Keystone, and Taos. I also skied Copper Mountain, Vail, Breckenridge, Snow Basin, Ski Cooper, Monarch, Eldora, Loveland, and Arapahoe Basin. I also did some cross country skiing in Idaho, Utah, and Colorado.
- In May my entire family was together in Colorado and we skied and hiked and scootered and just enjoyed being together.
- In July I took a couple trips to Vail and got to ride my mountain scooter down the mountain.
- My son Joel taught skiing in Australia from early June to early October, so I went to Australia in June and also late September through early October and got to ski there too. After his season at the Vail owned Perisher ski resort in Australia, the two of us went to New Zealand and we got to ski Cardrona near Queenstown and also at an indoor ski facility in Auckland called Snow Planet.
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| Almost to the top of Australia’s highest mountain |
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| Hiking around Lake Jindabyne |
- Australia was wonderful by the way! In addition to skiing we did a lot of hiking and enjoyed the little ski town of Jindabyne very much. We even climbed to the top of Australia’s highest mountain!
- We ice skated in Canberra, Australia and also in Queenstown, New Zealand.
- We got to see our cousin Donna Moses and her husband Philip in Sydney, Australia. It was the first time we saw Donna face to face. One of the highlights of seeing Sydney was taking a ferry and going to see the Sydney Opera House and surroundings.
- I went to Adelaide, Australia to see my daughter Rebekah and had a wonderful time! I also got to see Rebekah do the host role in the show in Adelaide.
- In Canberra, we got to see my favorite Broadway musical, Come From Away.
- My daughter Annabelle and her wonderful boyfriend Ben became engaged and will marry on August 25, 2024!
- Joel and I had a great fly fishing trip in Casper, Wyoming with our friend Adam Pennington as a guide in late October. We also got to skate at the wonderful Casper, Wyoming ice rink.
- My cousin Cherie visited us November in Colorado and we got to take her to Garden of the Gods!
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| My friend Larisa dressed up like a Pilgrim for Thanksgiving! |
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In November, my family (except Rebekah) was together for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful meal with my dear friend Larisa Gendernalik and her husband Larry. |
- My daughter Rebekah had amazing adventures in 2023 and got to travel all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA with Disney On Ice. She also has a wonderful boyfriend named Garrett who I adore. Garrett is on the crew for the Mickey’s Search Party Disney On Ice show and they are enjoying traveling together. They traveled in New Zealand and did a side trip to Indonesia together after their tour in New Zealand and Australia ended.
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| Garrett and Rebekah |
There are probably more wonderful things that happened in 2023 that I could list, but for now, these are a good summary!
As I write this, my husband Dan is in Long Beach with his family. We have determined that is the best place for him to be since after his mother’s death, we’ve determined being with family is the most precious thing ever. With all the losses we’ve experienced in 2023 we want to cherish those who are around us.
Joel and I are in Sun Valley, Idaho. Joel is teaching skiing and snow boarding and is working hard on getting as many snowsports certifications passed this season. Joel and I will skate in the holiday show together in Sun Valley. I’m enjoying skiing almost every day!
Annabelle and Ben are in Boulder. Annabelle will graduate from University of Colorado in May. Ben asked her to marry him while they were kayaking in Colorado in late August 2023.
Rebekah is continuing to travel with Disney On Ice. She does various roles in the show and understudies for the hostess of the show about once a week.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. I do hope that 2024 will be a good year!
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