Of course,
nothing stands still. Sometimes this reality fills us with exhilarating
anticipation, and other times we struggle to adapt to what is coming at us. The
flow of the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons remind us that while we
wait for the promised peace on earth and within ourselves, the challenges of
our own lives and the times in which we live call us to keep our focus on the
assurance and guidance of staying close to Jesus every day. So as you celebrate
at this season, Candy and I wish and pray for you a renewed depth of hope,
peace, joy, and love. The mystery of the incarnation of God in Jesus, Emmanuel
– God with us, is the confidence that we are not alone on our journeys.
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| Four Generation Thanksgiving |
At Thanksgiving, we celebrated the big change of 2019 for us with a four generation gathering. In July Candy’s Dad, Charlie Miller, moved to a senior living residence a mile and a half from us in Milwaukee. After 92 years living in Minnesota, this was a huge and challenging transition. Serious falls in June of 2017 and 2019 indicated he would be better close to us (for you who may not know, Candy is his only child) than attempting to live on his own in his home, even with daily help from a caregiver. We are very thankful to have him closer so we can respond to his needs in minutes instead of hours. Most of what he needs, such as laundry and shopping, are integrated into our regular rhythms. I have been able to adjust my activities to accommodate caring for and loving him as an extension of caring for and loving Candy.
Candy
continues to do very well with her Alzheimer’s journey. She continues to enjoy
and benefit from the Mind Effects program at the Lutheran Home for those in the
early stages of memory loss. She still beats me at Scrabble more than half of
the time. She works word puzzles and other mind games to keep her thinking as
sharp as possible. We attend a Memory Café monthly, a program of the
Alzheimer’s Association for fun socialization with others on this journey. I
participate in a monthly Caregivers Support Group, also from the Alzheimer’s
Association. I have begun regular appointments with a counselor to help me tend
my own well-being so I can be fully present to Candy and her Dad.
If you had a
chance to see the November issue of Guideposts
magazine, you may have seen an article about how my 50 year pattern of praying
the Psalms has helped and enriched my journey with Candy. The article was
arranged as part of getting the word out about my book Ripples that was released in October 2018. If you haven’t already
you can check it out at www.ripplesthroughlives.com.
On this journey I am seeking ways to simplify life as much as possible. We make
a point of looking for at least one source of joy every day, and adopting the
discipline of not letting the day’s struggles or anticipation of our future
trajectory detract from that joy. I am simplifying the Stolpe Star, while still giving you basic updates on the family.
Our Wisconsin
granddaughter Elizabeth went with Leanne and Jon, Hannah and Isaac on the home
building trip to Guatemala last summer. Hannah studied abroad in Strasberg,
France this year, after having studied in Chile last year. She is a senior at
Messiah College and will graduate in May, expecting to be teaching Spanish and
French somewhere the next school year.
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| Elizabeth |
Isaac is a
sophomore Music Education major at Grove City College.
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| Hannah and Isaac |
Sam will graduate
from Wauwatosa East High School this year and has been accepted to study
acoustical engineering at Goshen College in the fall.
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| Sam |
Elizabeth
will be turning 13 before the New Year and shifting into a Montessori program
of the Wauwatosa public schools for the rest of seventh and all of eighth
grades. She plays violin in the Longfellow Middle School orchestra program.
David began teaching at James E. Dottke High
School in West Allis this year. It is a project based learning environment that
is right up his alley. You can learn more about it at https://dottke.wawm.k12.wi.us/.
Rachel switched from being a substitute aid in Wauwatosa schools to being a
full-time aid at the Montessori school where Elizabeth will be also.
Leanne
continues as a Kindergarten teacher and working on her graduate school program.
Jon also continues as a manager of engineers (I really don’t know his title or
understand all he does) for the building automation division of Siemens. They
also continue their neighborhood and church ministries.
Erik
continues as Music Director for the Dallas School of Rock and recently adopted
Juno, a black lab mix. Erik and Juno drove to Wisconsin in the summer, shortly
after Candy’s Dad arrived. So we were thrilled to see him twice in 2019.
One of the
wonderful benefits of serving nine congregations (counting five interim
pastorates) in five states is that we have been enriched by a glorious treasury
of relationships. You who are receiving
this letter are a valued part of that wealth. You have probably heard the
cliché about worldly wealth, that you can’t take it with you. But with our
faith in Jesus, we rejoice that we can take each other into the joy God has
waiting for us.
Peace,
Norm (with
Candy adding her greeting too)
