Polly Thompson
Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 152
Rosalia, WA 99170
Phone: 509 523-5022
polly.crowley@wvsd.com
Kids:
Lora Jackson, age 33, married to Cecil; parents to Zion, age 3 and Maya, age 1.
Craig, age 30, married to Michele; parents to Ellis, age 1, and a new arrival in April, 2005.
Peter, age 28, married to Amber; parents to Owen, age 1.
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| Crowley gang, Glacier Park 2004 |
I missed our 30th reunion, so I am excited about reconnecting this summer. I guess we've all seen many changes. Our most fun and happy change (Oh, yes, I'm still married to Tom! It must be going on 37 years.) is the increasing size of our family. For awhile we thought that our kids (Lora, Craig and Pete) would never get around to helping us out on that. But when they got in gear, we multiplied in a hurry…the marriages and then the grandkids. First came Zion, in 2001, and then within six months between December, 2002 and June, 2003, three more grandbabies were born. Now we're expecting number five in April, 2005.
Even though Lora's family is in Seattle, Peter's is in Moscow and Craig's is in Spokane, we all seem to gravitate together to do lots of stuff. I guess we thrive on the chaos. One of the gathering places is the family cabin on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Most of us over twenty-eight year olds love to water ski. (Tom's preference is the fishing boat.) I'm sure the little ones will be coaxed onto skiis before long. Our sons decided the youngsters need to grow up backpacking in the family tradition. This last summer with four young ones, we convinced them that a modification to tent camping in Glacier with day hikes might be the more practical solution. In the photo you can see the whole happy clan pictured at Many Glacier (where Tom guided tours during his college years). Winter finds us looking for a family snow skiing weekend - this year we found great snow during Christmas break at Big White in B.C.
In our careers Tom and I have never ventured far from schooling. Now we are both superintendents. For me that is brand new, transitioning on January 1, 2005 to Superintendent of West Valley School District in Spokane. Tom is in year 20 as a superintendent, splitting his tenure between Reardan and Rosalia, Washington. I try to insist that our dinner table conversation is NOT about schools! We are somewhat the vagabonds as we move between a home in Rosalia and another home on the Spokane River near Post Falls. It's a good thing when no one knows exactly where we are at any given time! We built the Spokane River home in 2001 with the desire for it to be our retirement abode. (Unfortunately, retirement doesn't seem to be on the horizon any time real soon.)
Aside from grandkids and careers, Tom escapes for hunting or fishing whenever possible. I gravitate to the garden for stress relief. Each of the last two summers I finished sprint triathalons (Danskin and Lake Summamish), so I will try to force myself into training again this summer. We have had amazing travel experiences in third world countries - Congo, Haiiti, Peru and Guatamala. Tom thinks someplace like Cambodia should be next on the list.
Forty years out from high school, it will be incredible to compare all of our life journies.
See you soon,
Polly