The Summer of Our Content

In contrast to John Steinbeck’s dark (and final) novel; The Winter of our Discontent” (which in turn is a reference to the initial line of Shakespeare’s Richard III, that reads:  "Now is the winter of our discontent …”, Susan and I are having a very “contented” summer.  Here, I’ll list 5 things that make me content, and tell you why.

Several things that have been in the works for quite some time, are now coming to pass (or at least they seem to be).  First of all, Susan’s Mom is within a couple of days (hope this post doesn’t jinx it) of completing the sale of her house in Ardmore.  Joann moved to Edmond last year, while her house was “on the market”, but between a slow sales environment in Ardmore, and some necessary repairs, the sales process has been slow.  The closing is scheduled for later this week, so hopefully she won’t have to worry about Carter County property taxes, insurance, yard work or any of the other challenges long-distance ownership entails (#1).

 Then there’s Sarah, our eldest! Sarah & Ryan have started their second summer in the Ft. Worth area. Both enjoy their jobs; Sarah at Cook’s Children’s Hospital, and Ryan at Hughes Jr. High in Burleson. Well, they have bought and moved into their first house, in Burleson – just 15 miles south of FT. Worth. If that wasn’t big enough news, last week, they brought home their first child, Beckett into their new home (#2).

Sarah was induced last Monday, but it took until 2:41 on Tuesday morning for Beckett Ryan Ratcliff to come into this world. It was so cold in Sarah’s delivery room, who can blame Beckett for delaying his birth, or his monogram of BRR (that room was freezing)! In case I may have forgotten to mention it, Beckett is our first grandchild!

Not to be outdone, Hutt & Erin, who were married last November are also moving to (of all places) Burleson, Texas!  Hutt has been Youth Minister at the church in Graham, Texas – but recently accepted the position of Youth Minister in the (much larger) Burleson church of Christ.  They have purchased a home about 4 miles from Sarah & Ryan, and will be moving there in early August.  I know Sarah will be grateful to have Erin nearby, and the Hutsons may get some babysitting practice (That’s #3)!

Jordan and Erin Paige are having a busy summer in Huntington Beach, California as well.  Not only did both earn promotions this year, but also Jordan’s promotion was to become a section supervisor, in his Petroleum Engineering group, with Occidental Oil & Gas (Oxy).  But that’s not all!  Our golden California couple will be having their first baby in just a few short weeks.  Jordan, you’re “on the clock”!  Beckett will soon have a boy “Cali cousin” very soon (#4)!

To top off the summer of content, I got to participate on a weeklong Mission Trip to Nicaragua, where I practiced my Spanish first hand, and hopefully made life better for some great people in Nicaragua (That’s number 5, in my list of contentedness). Okay, Okay, the upcoming College Football season is #6!

 

I saw window sticker on a suburban in Burleson last week.  It caused me to wonder how many grandchildren we might have, ultimately.  Now, I have already been warned that grandchildren are measured in quality – not quantity.  But, when you consider the fine qualities of our kids and their spouses, you can help but wonder…

So goes the Summer of my Content!