For years, we have tried to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Since both of us have moved and changed jobs many times, it has seemed important to maintain these contacts. We’ve believed that even though we don’t see these friends often, the connections matter and are a valued part of our network. This year, we were really happy to find this approach confirmed!

While Karen was in Minneapolis for the national planning conference, she enjoyed a delicious Nepali/Tibetan/Indian dinner with David Arbeit and Susan Cheney. David had been a colleague of Karen’s at the City of Austin in the mid-1980’s. We’ve followed his and Susan’s careers and their hiking, canoeing and other adventures through their annual holiday letters. But we hadn’t sat down together since Karen and Terry moved to Kansas City in 1989. We had a lot to catch up on! There were quite a few stories that Karen, David or Susan hadn’t recalled exactly, and someone else could correct – as well as report on what happened later. It was great to reflect on the ways we’ve had an impact through our work, and to relish the enjoyment of travel and love of the natural environment that we all share. Enjoying time and a huge Indian meal together was a celebration and reinforcement of our long friendship.

Karen had a delightful lunch with Janet Johnson in June. They’d been close friends back at Stanford in the 1970’s, and had last seen one another in person at our wedding in 2010. How wonderful to reflect on the shared experiences of the past and to find so many shared interests and values today!

In August, we were both overjoyed to get a chance to visit our friend Carmen York in Arizona (see the photo above). She’d been on a challenging birding trip with us in Panama’s Darien region in 2010. Although we’ve exchanged holiday greetings every year since, and she lives only a few hours from our KT Ranch, we had not gotten together in person since Panama. What a delight! At 95, Carmen is still going strong! She shared pictures and stories from her childhood and throughout her eventful and travel-filled life. Next time, we’re planning to go birding together along the Santa Cruz River.

We continue the tradition we began during COVID of having Zoom calls and cocktail hours with friends and family who aren’t nearby. It’s a great way to stay in touch and know what’s happening with people we care about. We do phone calls too, for those who don’t like virtual. So let’s connect!