Needless to say the whole year of 1970 was full of life changing events for all of us. George and I both remarried later that year and the kids now had two sets of parents plus a couple of step-sisters. I married a man who was retired from the Army and working as a Special Agent for the investigative end of the Agriculture Department. George married a lady who had been widowed with two married daughters. She worked with a company she had been with for a long time and she was very generous and good with our kids. My husband, Warren, never had children and was divorced. I know he struggled with adjusting from military life into private life with my three children. So this is how the roads divided and our kids were free to go back and forth at their pleasure….. it took a little getting used to but we all worked hard at it.

I have to give the kids credit for accepting the situation and dealing with the divorce. Their world was torn apart through no fault of their own and they took it on the chin. George enlisted in the Navy that October but wouldn’t be leaving until February of ‘71. He was going to take his basic training in San Diego. The draft was getting close to him so he decided to pick his own place to hang his hat. He continued working at Lake View as night janitor until his swearing in.

Becky got her driving permit and her dad rode with her until she was ready to take her test for her license. She and DiDi were inseparable and since DiDi’s parents had divorced some time back the girls found a common bond in each other. Becky was invited to attend the prom with Mark at his school and she needed a formal so I went shopping for the color she wanted and made her dress. It fit perfect and she was very pretty in it; they made a nice looking pair.

John was just John. He was always a happy kid and kept himself busy. I’m not sure when he quit the paper route but he continued playing his drums and Scouting. He went back and forth for whichever activities he wanted between his dad and me. He had a lot of friends and their exploits are legendary.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were certainly different this year (1970) but being together is what makes Christmas happen. All three kids came, plus Mark and we had a very nice dinner and gift opening. I didn’t know it at the time but it would be the last Christmas we would have in the Kansas City area. It had been a year of many changes but more were coming…………

Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther