VanWinkishing

It would appear that our children miss us when we are off doing what ever we do in the motor home. We always make a stop at our great friends, The Van Winkles, in Missouri. Apparently we “go absent” and do not communicate as readily as when we are at home. Of course, I write these pieces of nonsense but as you know they are not exactly informative. In fact I pride myself in giving as little information as possible about where we are or what we are doing. If I do write about an actual event, I try to let some time pass before commenting on the exciting moment. This has worked well on our Fall 2013 trip as several sent encouragement to us regarding our Katy Trail bike ride days after it was complete.

It would seem that when the Van Winkles come to visit in late January it is another time when we “disappear” from the communication horizon. Much like summer and winter solstice, these events have been given a name by our children: VanWinkishing. 

I met Randy Van Winkle when we were sophomores in high school. We attended the same church, same college at least part of the time, met our wives at that college and have remained great friends all these years. The Van Winkles moved to the Mid-West in the early 70’s and other than our stint in New Mexico, Ruth and I have remained in California. We saw each other’s children when tiny, mid-sized and grown.

Our daughter is now a Dodge and her husband BobbyDodge didn’t have a full grasp of VanWinkishing. He thought it was something that started upon our retirement. He got a great laugh when Rachel told him, “Oh, no. We made trips to the midwest and the Van Winkles came to Madera.” He could not believe it!

Recently, Rachel commented that we were heading home and that they had survived the Fall, 2013, VanWinkishing.