Memory Lane - Cathy Meets Avon Rae (August 1985)

When I last stepped off Memory Lane, daughter Cathy had just arrived. Here she is on her first day home, still sleeping off the happy event.

But being the active family that we are, we soon strapped Cathy into the Delta 88 and headed back to Avon Rae, our family cottage on Ipperwash Beach in Ontario. 

The thrill of a new baby sister didn't diminish Ted and Christy's enthusiasm for sand and surf.

We were sure Cathy was enthusiastic about the beach as well, but being only a week old she expressed most emotions reservedly. 

So while Cathy snoozed, the rest of us went about our usual summer fun. Frolicking in the lake,

And on the beach.

There was even a little quiet time.

And every so often we would check in on Cathy, who typically was doing this. 

Awake. Taking it all in. But not quite sure what all the hoopla was about.

In the midst of all the excitement of introducing Cathy to foreign travel, a strange thing happened. It had never happened before and to my knowledge never happened again. A little background.

At the time, Ipperwash Beach was an old and established neighborhood. Most of the cottages were owned by families that had known each other for generations. Our immediate neighbor to the north was no exception. Her name was Dotty Cavan. She was originally from Georgia and had made it to Ipperwash by way of her husband Jim. As a child Jim had spent summers at Ipperwash Beach with his family to escape the Georgia heat. He continued that tradition all of his life.

Sometime in the 70s after years of renting, Jim and Dotty bought the lot next to Avon Rae and built a cottage. As the lot next door was essentially a large sand dune, the new cottage sat about eight to ten feet higher than ours. And from its elevated deck, one could see directly down into Avon Rae's large screen porch where our family happy hours took place.

Jim passed away in the early 80s, but Dotty continued returning to Ipperwash for the summer months. During that time she would occasionally join us in the lake for our traditional late afternoon family swim (the purpose of which was to work up an adequate thirst for the tradition that followed). And once or twice Dotty actually came down and joined us in our happy hour fun. But mostly she would keep to herself and follow (or perhaps be annoyed by) the rabble rousing on our veranda below.

But this year, Dotty broke with tradition and decided to invite us all up to her cottage for a happy hour. Being a teetotaler, Dotty found herself in new territory. She was perfectly prepared for the social side of happy hour. Pleasant chit chat about the day's events, proper inquiries into the state of everyone's health, and the usual retelling of stories and remembrances from past good times. 

She was also ably prepared with snacks and munchies to prime our palates for the fuel that drives happy hour - alcohol. It was regarding this final component - the centerpiece of the ritual - where things went a tad awry. Not experienced in the ways of grapes or hops or distilled spirits, Dotty felt any old form of alcohol would do. Unfortunately, the form she chose was an awful off-brand of - dare I say beer? Tasted like it was brewed in a rusty burn barrel.

But, what could we do? This extremely pleasant old friend had put herself out to accommodate our (to her) strange ways. She'd prepared the venue and the menu and purchased a case of what she thought was a libation suitable for the occasion. So we embraced the situation with smiles, took pleasure in the company, and drank as little as social grace would allow. As we were a bit off our game, there were only a few photos taken. But, they captured the moment. 

In this first one, we have Nancy's Aunt Evelyn (normally a gin and tonic drinker) sitting with Nancy's parents Rae and Marge (normally Manhattan drinkers). Note that all three have a glass of brown...uh...stuff. 

Here we have Nancy's Uncle Ken (also a gin and tonic drinker) with a glass of the same brown stuff.

Finally, our host Dotty in all of her hosting glory.

If you look closely you'll see that Dotty does not have brown stuff in her glass. I'm pretty sure it's ice water. No flies on Dotty. 

Despite the unusual liquid refreshment, we all had a great time at this our one and only happy hour gathering up on Dotty's hill. We drank the stuff without puckering too badly and enjoyed her southern drawl and finely-developed sense of humor. And to this day during our afternoon cocktails we often find ourselves revisiting the story of "Dotty's happy hour". 

Now back to Cathy and foreign travel. As the first few weeks of her life unfolded, Cathy adapted nicely to life on the road. She received frequent counseling from an informed source on the virtues of cottage life.

 Spent a lot of time contemplating what she'd been told.

And when she needed a little private time, she would let us know.

And while Cathy was napping, Ted and Christy went about their business. Outdoors.

And indoors.

Eventually, Cathy escaped her table cradle and joined the other kids on the sofa for a group photo. Their first. 

Before that August visit to Avon Rae was over, we had a couple of birthdays to celebrate. First was Christy's on the 20th, launched with a little presents frenzy.

Here she is modeling her new jacket.

We eventually got to the obligatory baked goods. 

And the payoff.

The following day we did it again for Ted, starting with some nifty gifts.

More baked goods, with a few more candles.

And a successful completion of the make-a-wish ritual.

It should be noted that there was another guest at both of these parties, appropriately attired and definitely paying attention. And slowly realizing that there's more to life than laps and naps. Just wait until next year.

Exhausted from extensive celebrating, what better way to relax than to head back to the beach for one last day in the sun. Everybody played.

So ended Cathy's introduction to cottage life and Lake Huron. She didn't say much about the experience, but I think she liked it.

Next time, Cathy meets the Canadians. A lot of them. Until then.

Grosse Pointe Charles

Memory Lane - Here We Go Again (January to July 1985)

About the title of this post, I'll get to that in a minute. First the blur that was early 1985. January and February were so active and interesting that I could find no pictures from either month. I'm sure snow shoveling was involved as well as commuting, kid care and at least a modicum of carousing. 

There were a couple of noteworthy events that spring. The first was a family visit to Washington D.C. in late March, a place with which Nancy and I both became very familiar during our working years. These first few pics were taken as we stopped by some typical touristy spots on one of our first visits. There was this handsome structure, front and back. President Reagan was napping at the time so we couldn't get an audience.

Years later, because one of my work friends had a nephew on the White House staff, Nancy and I (and I believe daughter Cathy) were able to tour the West Wing. That time it was Bush 43 who was dodging us. Something about dirt-biking on his Texas ranch. But I did get this a nice pen.

Back to the trip. We also visited our first president's modest abode on the shores of the Potomac.

Nice veranda. Here's a picture of Nancy taken on that veranda during our visit. It wasn't that obvious yet, but she had more on her mind than George Washington that day. 

For good measure, on our way back to our hotel we dropped by the old boy's obelisk. It's nice to have your own obelisk. Saves having to rent one. 

Back in Dearborn, April brought an Easter celebration complete with appropriate attire. Here's our little darling modeling her fancy dress.

And sporting a new bonnet.  

We didn't realize it at the time, but it was likely during these early days that Christy began to develop her uber-awareness of the need to dress up and decorate for all holidays (this trait must skip a generation as my mother is the same way). Christy even has a "forever" tree in her condo that bears appropriate seasonal decorations all year. Most recently it was adorned with decorated eggs and tended to by a bunny. Irrepressible.

In May we attended a Memorial Day celebration with several friends. Here's a pick of Nancy with from left to right childhood buddies Linda C. and Kathy S. and college buddy Grant T., also known as Trig. This pic also is your final hint on "where we're going again". 

Did you figure it out? If not this next pick is also the reveal.

Here we have another high school and college friend Nancy N. sitting with her daughter Jennifer next to my Nancy and - our next bundle of joy! At least 7/9ths of her. Meaning Nancy is now seven months pregnant with Cathy. 

Here's one more pic from the party, of Tom Y. (husband of Kathy S.) filling Christy in on the finer points of becoming a big sister. Like how she'll soon have to share everything she has with a stranger.

So in June, knowing her world was about to be changed for ever, Christy spent as much time as she could playing with her favorite stuff. Like her trike.

 Her pool.

Her play table.

Her favorite swing and slide at the local park.

Even her brother.

As a result we often found her like this, sleeping off the day's activities.

Meanwhile, Cathy was getting ready to make her move. Or so we thought.

Obviously, Mom was very ready. But......it just wasn't happening. Nancy's due date came and went. No news. Another week went by. No news. 

On the 12th day after her due date, Nancy was induced. But...no news. After several hours, her doctor sent me home telling me they would try again the next day. 

On Saturday the 13th, I trucked back to the hospital and joined my bride for another day of inducing. It was also the day of Live Aid, a global concert sponsored by dozens of artists to raise money for the fight against world hunger. And it worked. The doctors, inspired by Willie Nelson and company, managed to entice Cathy to join us. Here is the last picture taken of Nancy as a mother of one. Despite her discomfort, She managed a smile for the camera. Sorta.

Then in a flash (well, a few hours actually) it happened. Cathy arrived. 12:14 am on the 14th of July. offered here by the attending nurse. 

Shortly after this picture baby and mother were wheeled off to their respective recovery areas, and dad was sent home to get some rest. I was exhausted from watching others work so hard. It was after 1:00 am.

The next day everybody spruced up for the customary photo celebration. Here's the proof. First the star attraction, sleeping it all off.

Next the happy couple taking our turns with Miss Catherine Elizabeth.

There was also the sharing of our exciting news with close family and friends. That device in Nancy's hand is a land-line phone (for those of you who may not remember the days before unlimited talk and text).

A day later Christy joined the celebration, happy to meet her new sibling despite not being quite sure what it would all mean. 

A day later we brought Cathy home. Here's a pic of her snuggled in her very own crib in our Dearborn house.

 

And so her adventure began. Little did Cathy know that she would be an international traveler by the age of one week. We'll pick that story up with my next Memory Lane post. Until then.

Grosse Pointe Charles