We drove into Salem, Massachusetts yesterday afternoon and explored the area. Joe's cousin, Julie, lives in Salem with her family. This was the first time I had met Julie in person. We have stayed in touch a bit on Facebook and texts have been going back and forth with plans to meet on this trip.
Julie is the daughter of Joe's
Aunt Cornelia we saw earlier on our stop in New Orleans. Meeting Julie's family,
which consists of her partner, Olga, and their two daughters, Marina and
Mattea, was a pleasure. Marina, the eldest daughter, is a occupational therapist.
Mattea just finished her second year of college where she is majoring in data
science. We arrived at their home, a block from Salem Bay, around 6:00pm and
visited with the girls until the family's dear friend, Jan Lindholm, arrived at
6:30pm. Jan was born in Buffalo, Minnesota, just down the road from Rockford
where Megan - and soon to be us - lives. She lived in various communities in
Minnesota until she graduated from college.
Julie and Olga arrived home
shortly after 7:00pm and we sat down for a scrumptious meal. Joe was in heaven
as there were beans! I don't believe there was a lull in the conversation the
entire evening.
I try hard not to define people
by their jobs; however, they have jobs I find fascinating, so I am going to give
you a brief overview. Olga is the Director of Workforce Strategy working with international
youth to help them obtain skills and jobs so they can financially support
themselves. Jan is an English professor at Salem State University. Jan also
writes hymns under her full name, Jeannette M. Lindholm. You can read more
about her at https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/singing-praise-without-sexism-salem-state-professor-writes-hymns-for-a-modern-world/article_6859dd73-5f22-587a-9547-bba7bee2fbe0.html.
Julie, according to Jan is
currently doing two full time jobs at Salem State University. One job is as Vice
Provost of Academic Affairs and the other Assistant Provost for Global Affairs
overseeing activities of the Center for International Education. Julie is also
a published author. Her book is at https://www.amazon.com/Same-Sex-Marriage-Context-Lesbian-Identity-ebook/dp/B014W13JT6?ref_=ast_author_mpb.
It was difficult to call an end
to the evening; however, Julie, Jan, and Olga are not retired and had to work
this morning.
While driving around Salem,
yesterday afternoon I snapped photos of sites that caught my eye.
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