The Engagement
| Last year, I went back to square dancing. Those of you who've know me a long time know it is an old and dear pastime for me. I started taking lessons here in Vancouver, then when I went, as I've been doing for three years now, to Arizona for the winter, I transferred into a class there. That first night, I was placed with another single dancer, also a student, Jim Whitworth, and we've been dancing together ever since! At the Nationals in Portland Oregon |
| Jim is also retired. He moved to Arizona last June, planning to live there full time. Like me, he was a "retread" in the class, having danced for years before he quit when his wife became ill with Lewy Body Dementia. He lost her about three years ago and as a result, was a founder and the first president of the LBDA, a national charity supporting research and education about LBD. Our first long trip together was to a LBD event in Miami, FL. | 
Jim's home in Mesa, AZ |
| By the time we graduated, I'd sold my trailer and was living in Jim's lovely manufactured home. Also by then, we were engaged and had bought a van together. As seemed appropriate, we made the engagement formal during a class dance. |
| My daughter Sue was the first of our children to see us as a couple. She visited us in Mesa, AZ, on her way to a conference and gave Jim her blessing. Naturally, she reported back to her siblings, Leanne and Ken, that Mom had a "keeper". | ||
 Sue, Alaska |  Leanne, Washington |  Ken, Oregon |
 |
In Calif. on our way north with our van. When it was time for me to return to Vancouver, I brought Jim with me. On the way we stopped a few places in California and Jim showed me the areas where he'd lived for over forty years. I also met Jim's daughters, Mish and Jackie and their families. By then, I'd also talked to his son, Jean, who lives on the east coast, by phone. I feel honored that all three also gave us their blessings. |
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|  Mish, California |  Jackie, California |
| I was happy
to be home in Vancouver, but the weather was the usual May "iffy", more
wet than dry, and Jim was wishing he'd stayed in Arizona. We decided to put off
getting married until we could find a solution to our developing dilemma about
where live. Snow-birding is fine for a while, but we know we'll want something
permanent eventually. |
 My home in Vancouver WA |
| Then my daughter,
Sue, and her husband, Randy, asked us to drive a 21 foot Xplorer van to their
home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Of course, we jumped at the chance. Jim loves to drive
and the Alcan was a trip I'd always wanted to make but never had.
We saw awesome scenery, wild animals and met interesting
people. | |
 Frasier River Valley--You could see for hundreds of miles. |  Muncho Lake, Sunset at 11pm |
 Camping at Clinton, BC | We stayed all but one night of that three week, 2500 plus mile journey in Randy and Sue's little van. We had a wonderful time and finished the trip good friends. We still haven't decided what to do about a permanent living arrangement, but we know that wherever it is, we want to be together. |
