<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div>May I chime in here with sincere condolences for Buena and greetings to all. What a terrible shock, Buena - I am so, so sorry. </div><div><br></div><div>I am particularly aware just now of the bittersweet nature of our life cycle. I just participated in the marriage of my daughter Cate up in Montreal. Her husband is a wonderful, charming and talented Canadian immigrant from France, a Muslim with Moroccan roots, whose entire delightful family came from France for the wedding. The kids scripted the entire day, from ceremony to reception, with something for everyone... readings from the Qur'an, Khalil Gibran, music from Pachelbel and Bach to Moroccan dancing and salsa, long white wedding gown to Moroccan robes and short dress for the evening of dancing afterwards. They
scripted a greeting for Karim's mother and me to perform in Arabic, French and English, with both of us speaking unfamiliar languages (we do have French in common - thank you, thank you, thank you, Mme Lefaivre!). It was a fabulous day, and the young couple are ecstatically happy and are now honeymooning in Turkey. </div><div><br></div><div>What struck me was the subtle shift in leadership. Up until now, my sister Peggy and I have been the moving force behind family get-togethers. We have written the plays and composed the music that celebrated our parents' special birthdays and anniversaries. We have choreographed and directed the memorial services, and written the poems that brought us all into unity. And all this changed with Cate's wedding. In a very gentle and tactful way, she made it clear that this was her show, and that while my ideas were welcome, I shouldn't feel hurt if they did it all their way.
Which they did, and I wasn't! There was an element of relief in knowing that this child I have raised and nurtured has taken over, that the torch has been passed to the next generation, and that she is more than competent to lead. </div><div><br></div><div>All of which seems pertinent to Judy's comments about losing our peers. It is somehow comforting to me to know that our children are there to "prendre la releve", and that is as it should be. A thought which doesn't lessen Buena's pain, but perhaps makes it more bearable?</div><div><br></div><div>Love to all, and I hope to see you at our 50th! Betsy</div><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><br><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Susie Margraf <smargraf@ne.rr.com><br><b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> oxford63@cyber-community.com<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Wed, July 27, 2011 7:58:23 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Oxford63] exhibition<br></font><br>
My e-mail is finally up and running again. We are in friendship,Maine for the summer about to have the 5 grandchildren,5 and under arrive! It has meant so much to feel re connected through classmates' responses to Buena's sudden loss. I agree with Judy this is a time in life when we are losing more and more loved ones and dear friends. Support and caring truly are significant. I feel so fortunate to be able to be on the beautiful coast of Maine where it is hard to believe some days that the rest of the world is happening.<div>It was even 100 degrees here last week. Best Wishes, Susie Margraf {smargraf@ne.rr.com}<br><div><div>On Jul 26, 2011, at 4:52 PM, <a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:brucket@aol.com" target="_blank" href="mailto:brucket@aol.com">brucket@aol.com</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><font color="black" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><tt><a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://mailman.cybermesa.com/mailman/listinfo/oxford63"></a>
</tt><font color="black" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
<div> Judy, that was a beautiful email. I know when my brother died unexpectedly in 2008, the messages from our classmates really meant so much to me. Buena's daughter moved to Atlanta and we had Mikaela and her husband for dinner in April. Buena will be here in a few weeks and I hope to see her. The grandchildren will be in town so we may be at the beach but hopefully we will overlap for at least a day.<br>
Nanny-co's daughter moved here a number of years ago. If anyone is coming to Atlanta, please let me know. We rarely have free time when in Philly and DC so I understand when people come to visit kids.<br>
Hope all of you up north have cooled off. We are used to the heat but it was hotter in the NE than here.<br>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div style="clear:both;">Barbara Rucket<br>
<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:Brucket@aol.com" target="_blank" href="mailto:Brucket@aol.com">Brucket@aol.com</a></div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<br>
<div style="font-family:arial, helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black;">
<div id="AOLMsgPart_3_8a33258e-a3fb-438a-9168-6cf6a68aa59f" style="margin:0px;font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;color:#000;background-color:#fff;">
</div>
</div>
</font></font>_______________________________________________<br>oxford63 mailing list<br><a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:oxford63@cyber-community.com" target="_blank" href="mailto:oxford63@cyber-community.com">oxford63@cyber-community.com</a><br><span><a target="_blank" href="http://mailman.cybermesa.com/mailman/listinfo/oxford63">http://mailman.cybermesa.com/mailman/listinfo/oxford63</a></span><br></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div><div style="position:fixed"></div>
</div></body></html>