Today, November 17, 2021 would have been Scott’s 49th birthday. Here are 49 things that we (Paige, JJ, Ron, Jan, Ben, Laura, Katelyn, Brooke and me) want to share with him about the past year:
The pandemic continues. There are so many things to say about this:
Grammy can’t wait till she can see people again regularly and normally.
We are still wearing our masks. This year is still not back to normal.
Ben has only left the house for his office once or twice. It’s still a weird world!
We all got vaccines this year! The little ones most recently and some even got boosters already.
Last Christmas was a Zoom Boulanger/Spoerl Christmas.
No big New Year’s Eve bash this year because of Covid - we stayed at home but we were together as we joyfully said goodbye to 2020!. We watched our neighbor, Brian, light fireworks in his yard though which was fun. (greatest neighbors ever!)
Things are getting better with Covid but we are not back to normal yet.
Paige finished her first year of college - it sucked. (her words). The 2nd year is going so much better for her!
Brooke started to really like swimming and got on the swim team!
Katelyn finished remote school and got to go back and see friends. She has two best friends, Hailey and Navya.
Iowa football was having a record season and then blew it but are improving again.
Laura survived home schooling Katelyn and Brooke and made it out alive with minimal side effects. The girls tested well and are at the high end of their grade level!
Papa Ron wrote lots of stories on Storyworth and published a book. He wrote almost 90 stories. They are good and we enjoy reading them!
We cleaned out the garage and bought a shed. This was done to make room for my new convertible car. It makes me happy, seriously happy. Top down, music on, happy!
JJ is a senior this year and has applied to college and got his first acceptance from the University of Iowa!!! He’s going to college! He is still awaiting news from the other schools. He made national honor society too!
For Jan’s birthday, I made her a beautiful photo album that she looks at all the time!
Paige joined a sorority and met some of her best friends. Next semester she will be the risk reduction and education chair. Following in your footsteps as the safety guy.
Brooke started kindergarten and learned to read this year! She’s having loads of fun!
Katelyn started field hockey and scored her first goal! She is really enjoying it!
Donald Trump still thinks he’s president and ½ the Republican party still believes that he is too.
I got a legacy of love award this year from Head for the Cure for helping others make treatment plans, find doctors, and get the best care. I was surprised, humbled and honored to be the recipient of this award.
JJ played for the varsity soccer team and varsity basketball team. He bleached his hair last fall for soccer and it stayed orange all through basketball season. Haha
Grammy cleaned out Grandma Barbara’s house and got it on the market and it sold the next day! She was there on and off for 6 weeks and did an amazing job cleaning out.
Paige is a sophomore and a psychology major with a minor in education and she is currently doing fieldwork which is “interesting.” (said sarcastically).
Katelyn started competitive swimming as a dolphin. Her favorite stroke is freestyle and she likes the relays.
Ben tried to go to your favorite deli in Newark called Hobbys today in honor of your birthday. He couldn’t go but he thought of you.
After Papa’s year as a hermit, he has been going to Sue’s for Sunday brunch every Sunday. He’s enjoying the time with his family.
JJ got his driver’s license. He is a great driver and I am enjoying being a passenger again. Not so relaxed that I put my feet on the dash like when you were driving but it’s nice.
MaryBoone published a book called Bugs for Breakfast and she is working to spread the word of sustainable food sources.
Paige and I started rollerblading again and we took Katelyn and Brooke rollerblading to the Newark Branchbrook Park roller rink. It was the best day ever!! And we went to Let’s Yo after!
Brooke helps pick up trash at school with her friend. You’d be proud!
Laura had to do a lot of volunteering this year to see any live sports or get inside the school. She is on the HSA board at school.
The Afghan war has ended and it seemed that everyone was mad about it. It was kind of a mess.
We all went to Nantucket this year. We went to turtle pond, raced and then ate lobsters, JJ drove off roading (Winky let him drive her car), and sat on your bench and thought of you. Grammy organized a scavenger hunt for the entire crew and that was fun.
We turned JJ’s old bedroom into an office which proved much needed space during quarantine - Paige, JJ and Jack all took turns in the space.
JJ won the senior class flirt superlative. #1 most flirtatious boy in the senior class. Aren’t you proud?
Grammy won the prize for deciding to throw the piano out in the dumpster at Grandma Barbara’s house. It created quite a hubbub.
Paige went to her first of many frat parties. She is enjoying college more now. :)
Katelyn started a squishmallow collection - they are squishy stuffed animals. Paige has one too shaped like an avocado.
The Ben Spoerl clan got the front porch and house painted and it looks beautiful. The door was supposed to be a Nantucket red...but they decided on a color that is a little lighter but really pretty.
Julie grew an accidental pumpkin this year. Maybe the squirrels left a seed in the flower box last year? The pumpkin was perfect and then went on adventures with JJ’s friends. It’s a good story but a long one.
JJ wrote his college essay about you and the overwhelming effect you and your illness had on him and our family. It was so well written and definitely a tear jerker. He is an amazing writer.
Grammy had her eyes fixed and no longer has droopy eyelids. Her vision is much better now.
JJ and I took a trip down the Carolina coast to visit several colleges and we had a Bojangle time. We visited ECU, UNCW, Coastal Carolina and then ended in Charleston where Paige and Jack joined us.
On our vacation to Charleston, we went out to dinner and JJ ordered a beer at a restaurant and was served! I ate crab legs and corn - delicious! Paige tried oysters and said they were ok. We played a lot of DOS, the card game, and hung by the pool.
Joe Biden is president and his approval rate is 41% but Papa Ron still likes him. Papa says the whole world is crazy.
JJ took his SAT test again over the summer and got to a score that he was happy with -- higher than yours or mine. Equivalent to Paige’s ACT :)
Grammy is so proud of her grandchildren. She likes seeing JJ play soccer and Paige going into education.
We hosted a 4th of July celebration and Paige and I dressed in our festive American attire, went to the fireworks store and bought a bunch of stuff, drove around in the convertible, almost got in a car crash but didn’t - it was a blast. We celebrated Auntie Jen’s 50th at the party with a very strong rum punch. Can you believe she’s 50?!
I took a new position at work and now I’m working at both Salt Brook and AWR. I get to work with some of Paige and JJ’s AWR teachers, which is really fun.
JJ goes on walks with Coach Cattano sometimes and went today on your birthday. Coach said he’d want you to know that he and JJ have gotten really close and he says hi! He told me JJ “is still the best.”
I am enjoying spending lots of time with my friends - some are empty nesters now so we all like being together a lot. I am lucky to have such good friends in my life. I might be in love with Joann’s dog Charlie.
Paige wants you to know that she’s happy and that she misses you. We all do, so very much.
Lucky died on St. Patrick’s Day this year, maybe he crossed the rainbow bridge and met you on the other side? We miss him but he lived a good long life. He was a good boy!
You, as always, would be so proud of Paige and JJ. They are wonderful, caring people who I not only love with all my heart but I really like. We continue to move forward and try to enjoy life as much as possible, like we know you’d want us to.
I could continue...there’s always so much to tell you each year. I wish you were here to experience it all with us. It’s unbelievable that we’ve now celebrated 6 birthdays without you. This wasn’t how I imagined my life to be and I miss you as much today as I did that first summer but I will make the best of this life, welcoming each sunrise as you would want me to. Salve Diem. Happy 49th birthday Scott.
Forever yours, Julie
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