Home for the Holidays

In late November, we took advantage of one of Jay’s short business trips to travel back to Atlanta. Jay left Thanksgivings Day, first to visit his mom and brother in New Jersey, and then work the following week in Philadelphia. Helen lingered a few more days in Bangalore to complete her volunteer responsibilities at the Overseas Women’s Club (www.owcbangalore.org) Christmas Bazaar. Helen flew directly to Atlanta where we eventually met up to have a post-Thanksgiving / pre-Christmas weekend with our children and a few friends.

Whenever business travel takes Jay to New York or Philadelphia, he visits his 84 year old mother in Livingston, NJ. The Livingston home, built by Jay’s mom and dad over 50 years ago, is a small, comfortable dwelling and a testament to the energy and hope that filled 1st generation Polish immigrants to America. Upon his arrival, Jay was greeted with the expected hug from his mom, a roast beef dinner and an unexpected published book outlining seven generations of his family tree. A labor of love by his cousin Louis Prontnicki, the book traces generations of hard-working Polish peasants. It celebrates the decision made at the dawn of the 20th century by never-seen great-grandparents to book passage for a son (Jay’s grandfather) on a steamer bound for Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

This Christmas additional thanks will be offered to those who labored for another generation’s good fortune. We all enjoy the shade of trees we did not plant and drink from wells we did not dig.

Jay’s visit with his brother in western New Jersey was a stopover in a place where God has retirement property. Keith, a software engineer / gentleman farmer, and his architect wife, Ellen, built their country home 25 years ago amid the rolling hills of the Garden State. Jay’s visit was a time to deliver hay, collect stones for the homestead rock wall and savor a view of farmland Jay’s grandfather may have seen.

Back in Atlanta, Helen organized the Christmas decorating. There was also shopping, wrapping presents and the preparation of the family gathering meal.

The children are all doing well. Sean is completing his undergraduate work at Georgia State and looking forward to advancing his anthropology studies in graduate school. After finishing two years at a junior college, Karen will continue her business studies at Georgia State University. Eric continues at American Honda Finance. With a strange twist to the few degrees that separate all of us, Eric works on a corporate software system Jay implemented on a consulting assignment in California. Tamami, the young Japanese widow of Jay’s elder son Kevin, obtained her green card and looks forward to nursing studies at Georgia State. We are a blessed family.

Christmas lights were hung with care outside and the large Christmas

wreath hoisted above our door. But before you can say Kris Kringle, we were back aboard a Delta flight headed home to Bangalore. One can never anticipate the joys and adventure that life may offer….