Anchors Aweigh

Fall seems to be a time for reunions, and as we make preparations to attend my husband’s 30th class reunion at the Naval Academy, I’ve been thinking about reunions, school reunions and family reunions.

My husband graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May of 1981. He was one of approximately 1,000 midshipmen to graduate that spring. Since then, we’ve returned to Annapolis almost every five years to see how well everyone has aged!

The first reunion we attended was the ten-year reunion in 1991. By that time, Tim had gotten out of the Navy and was flying for Delta Airlines. Many of his buddies were still active duty, so they shared stories of their military service. A few years later at the fifteen year reunion, people started bringing their children.

Over the years, we’ve watched those children grow up and move on. The twentieth reunion was a life-changing event for my son. We had taken him to some of the activities and he enjoyed mingling with the current crop of midshipmen. We had lunch in the wardroom, and Timmy spoke with mids who were planning to enroll in Navy flight school. They told him about their summer experiences and the ships they had sailed on.

My son was so impressed with the service academy opportunities that three years later he began his first year at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Had it not been for that reunion experience, he might have spent his college years somewhere else.

At the last reunion many of my husband’s classmates were sharing stories of sending kids off to college. We reminisced about packing them up and sending them off only to mourn the empty bedroom and the quiet house. Everyone agreed that it was something that was quickly gotten over! We laughed about watching our children grow up and become adults themselves.

This season, at the Navy football game tailgaters, grandchildren have begun to appear. The class of 1981 is moving on to its next phase. Grandparent-hood and even retirement. One of my husband’s classmates retired as a Navy Captain last year.

I remember attending football games with my husband when he was a student. We’d stroll around the parking lot looking at all of the class flags, 1940, 1945, 1955…We couldn’t imagine being that old and returning for a 30th or 40th year reunion. How old those people must be!

As we tailgate next week, I wonder how many young midshipmen and their dates will be saying the same thing! It’s hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly! But is sure is a wonderful feeling to hear all those old guys at the end of the game shouting “Go Navy! Beat Army!” Some things never change.

This blogpost ran as my column, The Empty Nest, in the Frederick News Post on Sunday November 6, 2011.

When in Scotland, Do as the Scots

Fall is a special eating time in our area, fall festivals, Oktoberfests, pumpkin pies, apple pies…all this food made me think of some international experiences my family and I have had with food.

When my daughter was a junior in college, she spent a semester studying abroad in London. As she was making plans and packing for her adventure, I was organizing a family spring break vacation in England and Scotland. We shipped her off in early January, and I began making reservations and writing itineraries.

Husband, son, and I flew into London on a Thursday in April and drove our rental car to the British American Drama Academy where my daughter was studying. It had been three months since I saw my baby girls and there were lots of tears of happiness when she walked out of the classroom to greet us. Then we were off!

Our next stop was a trip to her apartment to pick up her bags for our Easter weekend British escape. There were no classes at the academy on Friday, so we had decided to take an Easter holiday in the northern part of Great Britain. After a few hours of driving, we stopped to spend the night just outside of Liverpool. Our British culture-experienced daughter helped us make our dinner selections and then it was time to go to bed for a good night’s sleep.

The next day we rose early for a day full of site seeing. We stopped at Hadrian’s Wall on our way into Scotland. I wanted to see where the Romans had decided to end the empire. We also toured a Roman camp located near the wall. I was feeling quite like a relic.

After lunch, and some shopping, we opted for a scenic route into Edinburgh. We meandered through the hills of Scotland and I made my husband stop several times so that we could visit with the sheep and lambs grazing on those hills. Little did I know that we would be eating their ancestors the following day!

We had an afternoon visit at the Edinburgh castle and then were off to our hotel. The next morning, we went to the hotel restaurant for our Scottish breakfast. My husband had told us all about haggis. A traditional Scottish dish, haggis is the theme of Robert Burns’ poem Address to a Haggis. Haggis is a sausage made of sheep organs. Knowing all of this, my children and I feasted on haggis that morning. My husband, who has traveled all over the world and experienced all sorts of cultures, decided to pass. The kids and I had decided that while in Scotland we would do as the Scots!