1978: Where did the year go?

Like everyone else we are saying, "where did the year go?". It seems only a few months ago we were preparing to celebrate Christmas '77. Christmas '78 is going to be really an exciting one for us - our first Christmas in the States since departing for Japan in 1975.

Early this year we bought a townhouse in Walnut Creek, California. Beth and Scott, and Jill and Jodi Casselman (young friend from Travis days) are living in it while attending school and working part time. It has been our home away from home on our frequent trips back to the States this past year and this Christmas we plan a family Christmas back in the good old USA.

Our trips this year have been confined to California. Our summer vacation plans went down the drain when Northwest Orient went on strike, and all the world was travelling. Our discount tickets couldn't be honored. The girls spent the summer in the States with friends and also with the gang in Walnut Creek. Tim worked as a lifeguard at our club here in Japan. I adjusted to a much smaller family and didn't like it!

In october we flew back to the States for Ann and Megan to have braces put on their teeth - a painful experience for them, but great for Dick and me. We filled our tummies with gourmet food, shopped and saw friends.

Dick is still instructing for Japan Air Lines. He loves instructing plus the great thing is that the simulator is located Haneda rather than the far-flung Narita Airport. He still flies the "Silk Route" and enjoys the challenge of landing at all the different airports plus doing my shopping - another challenge!

The youngest three - Tim (16), Ann (14), and Megan (13) are continuing to do well at St. Mary's and St. Maur's. They keep me involved and busy - and so the days fly by.

Blessings, holiday wishes and love from us all -

1977: Christmas

We are approaching our third Christmas in Japan, and this past year has been even more exciting for the Finaly family. Early in the year we moved to an older home with a lovely big garden and a unique charm that appealed to us. It is just around the corner from our old house and still convenient to everything.

One reason this year was special is because Beth and Jill Casselman (a good friend of ours and Beth's) spent four months with us this summer. They ran a summer day camp at our club plus toured Japan. All summer long our house resembled a youth hostel with the children's many friends coming and going (the record was eleven!). It was fun - even when Dick tripped over bodies in futons (Japanese sleeping quilts) all over the house. Right now Beth and Jill are in Europe for three months - seeing all they can before they return to school in January.

In August Dick and I, Tim, Ann and Meg made it 'round the world! What an experience. We spent most of our time in London, Athens, and Corfu and thoroughly enjoyed sharing this trip with the children. Our stops - some of them very brief - included Anchorage, London, Paris, Athens, Corfu, Cairo, Bombay, Karachi, Bangkok, and back to Tokyo all thanks to Japan Air Lines.

We had a nice surprise when we arrived home. Dick was asked to be an instructor -- meaning more time at home and more money. Fantastic!

Scott is busily applying to colleges, and it looks as though he wil probably end up in California. He has had an exciting year with his modelling and photography - through which he met Pele and Beckenbauer, the New York Cosmos soccer stars -- plus making money. He also was a lifeguard at the club all summer. At the moment he's preparing for a hunting trip with Grandpa in Vermont.

Ann and Meg went to California for several weeks this summer. Tim was on a swim team, and is now on the St. Mary's swim team plus playing rugby for the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club with Scott. All the children are improving their Japanese and Ann and Scott are almost fluent.

We look forward to another interesting year here and wish you all a very merry christmas and a wonderful new year.