December
2014 (after Christmas)
AD
2014 is a few days from being over, so it's time to put out another
Ratliff Annual Update. Lots of changes, excitement, and other terrors
(parents of multiple teens will understand) this year – as well as
the normal family fun.
On
New Year's Eve last year (to celebrate finishing last year's letter),
the Ratliffs went to the see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Phillips
Collection in Washington, D. C. For a full 186 minutes we managed
to NOT get ejected from the museum while steeping ourselves in art
and culture. Afterward, we took a jaunty stroll down Embassy Row on
our way to lunch. We then enjoyed the Mall and the Air & Space
Museum before returning home.
Spring
semester 2014, found Preston taking more classes at Northern
Virginia Community College while completing high school and
continuing to evaluate colleges. In March we traveled to
Philadelphia to tour Drexel U. We also used our time in Philly to
see the Liberty Bell, have cheese steaks with our Pastor's daughter
(who lives there), and enjoy the fragrance of NJ wafting over the
Delaware. During April, Preston and David attended Virginia
Commonwealth University's Preview Day in Richmond. After a close
evaluation of schools (plus meeting two charming VCU engineering
majors, both named Brittany), Preston made the decision to attend VCU
and study mechanical engineering. At the end of the school year,
we celebrated what came to be known as the “Month of Preston.”
At the end of May, friends and family gathered to honor Preston's
scouting journey with an Eagle Court of Honor. The following weekend
we celebrated Preston's graduation from high school at the Home
Educators Association of Virginia convention in Richmond. The next
week Preston and Kanoa attended orientation at VCU. That Friday
Preston played in his last piano recital. Later in June we held a
party to celebrate Preston's graduation and 18th birthday;
thus completing both the “Month of Preston” and Preston's
childhood; and marking the beginning of David and Kanoa having an
adult son.
Hallelujah!
2014
was a busy scouting year. In January Ian and Troop 161 went snow
camping in Rixeyville, VA, which included sledding. The troop also
devoted time this year to working on the God & Church award, and
several boys, including Ian, earned the award this fall. In
November they attended a Washington Wizards game. As is usual,
December has been busy working the Christmas tree lot fundraiser.
Additionally there were several camping trips, a snow tubing event,
and Merit Badge Midway; plus the troop held a spaghetti dinner to
raise funds to travel to summer camp in Canada.
2014
was Preston's second year on the Mid-Atlantic District Youth Cabinet,
which planned events for senior high youth in Virginia, Maryland,
Delaware, and West Virginia. Events included a winter retreat at
Camp Hashawha in Maryland and snow tubing in Pennsylvania.
Summer
2014 Preston acquired his first full time job. He enjoyed working
with a team rehabbing concrete safety barriers; he also assisted in
on-site placement of barriers for road projects and the African
Summit in Washington, D. C. He was able to work plenty of overtime.
In his spare time, he was able to play church league softball and
complete his 11th season on the Curtis Park Swim Team.
Preston finished his first semester at VCU this fall. His community
college classes transferred so he was able to take Calculus 2,
Physics, Psychology, and Statics. We were able to visit during
Family Weekend in October. For Kanoa's birthday in November we all
went out for a nice dinner in Richmond.
When
summer vacation time came this year, we were nearly overbooked. The
major event for Church of the Brethren youth this year was National
Youth Conference (NYC), which is for high school aged youth and their
advisers only. And due to Kanoa's untreated compulsion to volunteer
for everything, she was one of our church's advisers. Also Troop 161
had been planning for a couple of years to have its 2014 summer camp
in Ontario, Canada – starting 2 days after the end of NYC. And by
the time of the camp, Preston would turn 18 and be too old to attend
as a scout. The Ratliffs' quandary was how to spend summer vacation
together as much a possible at two major events located 1700 miles
apart that not everyone could attend. The obvious answer: Road Trip!
So
on a beautiful July morning, David and Ian set off in the big van and
a rented minivan with Preston, four other church youth, Kanoa, and
another adviser for northern Colorado, making overnight stops in
Illinois and Kansas.
Two
days later the caravan arrived at Colorado State University in Fort
Collins. Kanoa, Preston and the other NYCers enjoyed nearly a week
of uplifting worship services, introspective small groups, exciting
workshops, service projects, and daily recreation opportunities.
During
NYC, David and Ian enjoyed their own 'man-cation' in a nice rental
townhouse, free from the constraints of Kanoa's relentlessly
civilizing influence. Beds were left unmade and milk was consumed
straight from the carton. They were able to visit David's Aunt Mary
and cousins during the week and even joined up with Kanoa and her
charges at Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike.
Once
NYC came to a close, most of the NYCers, including Preston, headed
east for home. (Preston wanted to get back to his job - $$) Kanoa,
David, and Ian, however, began a dash across the middle of North
America to rendezvous with Troop 161 in Ontario. On their way they
traveled through Nebraska, a state none of them had previously cared
to visit. They had a steak dinner and stayed overnight in Omaha.
The next day they traveled to Port Huron, Michigan, dodging Chicago
rush hour and Indiana drivers making their way north for the weekend.
The following morning the border crossing into Canada could not have
been easier, eh?
They
aimed the van toward the great white north, passing Toronto and
eating at Tim Horton's on the way to meet up with the rest of the
troop at Haliburton Scout Reserve. Haliburton is located in the
“Cottage Country” region about 4 hours north of Toronto. There
are hundreds of lakes that dot the countryside. The camp itself
surrounds a beautiful lake, and upon check-in everyone is issued a
life jacket. Scouts, adults and gear were piled onto pontoon boats
and ferried across the lake to a secluded campsite reserved for
Troop 161. The scouts and the adults made camp; pitching tents,
gathering wood, and stocking the privies with fine American TP. Not
long after a rustic dinner, cooked and eaten in the fresh, brisk air,
it was time to turn in for the night. David had outfitted his tent
with air mattresses to ensure Kanoa's comfort – everything was in
order. So after two long days traveling upon unfamiliar roads; after
6 days of chaperoning teenaged girls at NYC; after the trip from VA
to Ft Collins; after 12 states plus Ontario – Kanoa laid her head
upon the pillow. In the fading twilight the call of a loon was
heard. Then the rain began to pour. It may be happily reported that
David's fervent prayers were answered that night: The seldom-used
large tent that David had purchased ten years prior on clearance did
not leak. Hallelujah!
The
next morning was misty but fair. At orientation the campers were
issued canoes, which are used to attend activities throughout the
week. The boys were able to participate activities such as sailing,
paddling, mountain biking, rappelling, and trapping chipmunks (this
last one was unsanctioned, but no chipmunks or scouts were harmed).
At the campsite, the boys also worked on both Canadian and American
merit badges.
David
and Ian stayed the whole week at the scout camp, while Kanoa escaped
for a few days of 'mom-cation' in a motel in a nearby town. Kanoa
did return to spend two more nights at the Scout camp before it was
time to head for home.
On
the way home was a stop at Niagara Falls. Leaving Canada proved to
be more difficult than entering since there was considerable traffic.
It turns out that there are two lanes for most of the approach to
the Rainbow Bridge. One lane, which is the through lane, consisted
of 5 miles of orderly and neatly-spaced Canadians. The other lane
consisted of several hundred yards of American vehicles jockeying for
position in order to cut in front of the placid Canadians at the head
of the line. In retrospect, waiting it out in the through lane may
have been unpatriotic. Heading back through NY and PA, we
encountered heavy rain much of the way, but we still managed to make
it home late that night (at 2:30 a. m.). When David, Kanoa, and Ian
emerged from their beds late the next morning they found that
Preston had made them a pancake breakfast. Thus ended the three
weeks of Road Trip 2014. Hallelujah!
Ian
just turned 14 and is in 8th grade this year. He is
continuing to take French at CHESS and has also added a Virginia
History class and a writing class. Ian also participates in a co-op
to supplement the literature we are studying at home. He has had
field trips to the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Virginia
Center for Architecture and Mount Vernon this fall. Ian also
continues to take piano lessons. In February he participated in the
Manassas Piano Festival, receiving superiors in theory and solos. He
played in recitals in June and December. He also plays at church from
time to time, and even played at a fund raising dinner for Shepherd's
Spring this fall. Ian again played both spring and fall soccer, and
his team continues to rack up winning seasons in the WYSC U-16
division. Following in his brother's footsteps, Ian has enjoyed
participating in Mid-Atlantic District Church of the Brethren events.
He attended a junior high lock-in in and snow tubing in February and
a 30-Hour Famine in April. Most Sundays, Ian runs the A/V systems at
church. Ian has continued to swim for the Nation's Capital Swim Team
during the school year and the Curtis Park Seahawks during the
summer. He spent a week at Shepherd's Spring's Outdoor Adventure
Camp in August. This summer Ian volunteered at the local library's
Summer Reading Program, and he has continued in their Teen Advisory
Group as he is able during the school year.
Kanoa
completed her term as chair of the church's leadership team, while
also teaching Sunday School and helping with the youth programs.
This year that included attending various district youth events (plus
NYC). Kanoa also ended a three-year term on the board for the Curtis
Park Swim Team. Hallelujah!
David
continues to teach an adult Sunday School class and oversee the sound
system. He is also the Committee Chair for our Boy Scout troop.
This year David (and Kanoa) also attended his 30th reunion
of the Brentsville District High School Class of 1984.
Wishing
blessings for our friends and family for 2015,
The
Ratliffs
David,
Kanoa, Preston, Ian (&Tigger)
