This November marks significant anniversary dates for me.
10 years ago I was getting ready to exit my "work for money" job in Ripon. I can't believe 10 years has passed.
7 years ago we moved to our current address. I remember Grasshopper No.3 helping us move things like mirrors, lamps and pictures. He sat in the basement before any furniture had arrived and asked me "if I knew what the hell I was doing"? The answer of course was "nope".
24 years ago your Mom and I moved from Sheboygan to Appleton. Moving day was one of the worst ice storms we had had in years and by the time your Mom and Grasshoppers No.4 and No.5 got to Appleton, nerves were very frayed.
24 years marks the longest your Mom and I have lived in one place. Having been born and raised in Plymouth, we moved to Milwaukee at age 23 to start my first real job. So the Plymouth years culminated in a grand total of 23 years including my going off to school. Here we are. Appleton. 24 years. The record.
Just for comparison sake, 18 years marks the amount of time we lived in Sheboygan raising our first family (Grasshoppers No.1, No.2 and No.3).
12,000 miles (approximate) is the distance I've covered with my morning walks. I figure I do between 3.5 miles and 4 miles per day and I've maintained that routine for 10 years. By my calculations, I've walked one-half the way around the world.
Our future holds being married 50 years and birthdays marking 70 years.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life happens. Everyone establishes their own benchmarks. You've probably got a few that are significant to you.
Love,
Dad