Today's Transitions....

Our priority is spending time with family and friends.  After lunch with Eric's mom, the three of us are going to visit Eric's Great Aunt Betty Sugalski in Glenville.  Aunty Betty is 87 and very special to all of us.  She came to the United States from  England after marrying Eric's Great Uncle Al in 1948.  Their brief meeting during World War II during a black out near Betty's village in Oxfordshire turned into an exchange of letters that lasted the length of World War II.  After Al survived the war and returned home, their letters gradually became more intimate.  Al proposed to Betty by mail and Betty's family discouraged her from leaving home to go to America to marry a Yank they hadn't met.  Al made arrangements to study at the University of London to continue his engineering studies for a year and went to Betty's village as soon as he arrived.  Six weeks later Al and Betty married, Al received his ration card and they moved to London in time for Al to start his studies at the University of London.

Betty followed Al home because she was detained for health reasons - She has a history of tuberculosis and had to pass several physical examinations, months apart.  The Sugalski family warmly welcomed her and following severe bouts of homesickness, Betty made Schenectady and then Glenville her home.

Al and Betty adopted Therese (Teese) and Alex.  Al worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and Betty worked at Saint Clare's Hospital in the finance office until she retired.

They warmly welcomed generations of our family and we loved spending time with them.  Adam and Diane grew up basking in the warmth of their love.  

Uncle Al died in 2002 and we miss him terribly.  Visits to Aunt Betty are full of reminiscences, catching up on family, and talk about current events.  We will miss her terribly.  Adam will visit her regularly and we will Skype with them at her home.  

We bring champagne to John and Carol's house in Ballston Spa this evening for a celebratory send-off.  We met John and Carol through Escapees RV Club, a national RVing group.  The Berggrens have been retired for 16 years and made many memories on the road across our country.  For the last six years, we have been camping with John, Carol, and fellow New York State Escapees twice a year.  John and Carol are spending less time on the road these days and we expect them to head back out after some medical conditions are cleared up.  It's time to say goodbye, for a while and we'll meet up next year, hopefully, in Kingston, Canada in June.