Happy Valentine's Day!

Come my friends, ‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.”

- Alfred Tennyson

 
Dear Friends,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A few weeks ago, Jack asked us if we were planning to send out Valentine’s Day cards to our friends and it made great sense to us. After all, for some of you, this is the first time you have heard from us in a long time – for that absence, we apologize and look forward to bringing you up-to-date and hope to hear from you in the coming weeks and months.

In late December, Jack turned six and he is currently in Kindergarten at Our Lady of Victory School in Washington, DC. This has been a great year for our son. He graduated from Pre-K back in May, learned how to swim, played organized sports for the first time (and scored a goal in his opening game) and kept the tooth fairy busy as he lost and grew back five teeth including the two front ones.

Our little man, Jack, is the joy of our lives – and we love our family time together from going to see the Baltimore Orioles, to teaching Jack how to grill marshmallows to watching him change into Batman (his Halloween costume). Most importantly, we enjoy spending time with him to absorb his wonder, enthusiasm and innocence. He has enriched us as parents and people.

This year, we paid homage to the family tradition known as the “long car trip.” We spent the Fourth of July week in Camden, Maine where the “Linde men” managed to eat some type of lobster every day and gorge themselves on all things blueberry (pie, soda or beer). We think the dramatic increase of blueberry and lobster consumption helped trigger Jack’s latest growth spurt – he is now over four-feet tall and weighs close to 60 pounds – of course, that vacation also caused his Father to grow!

Later that month, we headed to upstate New York to attend Jason’s High School Reunion at Glimmerglass State Park in Cooperstown. During that special weekend, Jason walked through his childhood home, returning for the first time since 1985.

As the Assistant Dean for Marketing, Admissions and Outreach at the School of Public Affairs at American University, Jacqueline ended the summer planning and holding a successful orientation for new students while Jason and Jack spent the week in Central and Western New York visiting Jason’s Dad. They treasured this trip – where Jack had the opportunity to visit his Grandfather’s factory, tour Niagara Falls, walk around Syracuse University and pretend he was “Lightning McQueen” from the “Cars” movie as they raced around a go-kart track at the local amusement park.

Jacqueline is enjoying her job at American University and in May will celebrate her third anniversary at AU. The 2006 and 2008 election cycles have proved to be an exciting time to recruit graduate students as more and more people are considering a career in public service. Just a few weeks ago, more than 7,000 people attended the Obama/Kennedy endorsement event at American University.

Jackie has become an avid Eagle’s fan attending the men’s basketball games with Jack and Jason. With a nerf hoop indoors and a small basket in our backyard, we often play together and pit “AU” against “Syracuse.” Thankfully, we also try to balance sports with board games and children’s theater.

We chose the Tennyson quote to open this letter because it serves as a reminder of what truly is important, a point driven home by the sudden death of Jason’s Dad in early October. His Father, John, passed away in his sleep at age 64 due to deep vein thrombosis. Since then, we have all remembered what a kind man his father was and we are most appreciative of the time Jason, Jack and his Dad spent together this summer. Last year, Jason and John also had the opportunity to come closer, and discuss their lives together, as he helped his Dad recover from two eye surgeries.

His Father’s passing helped bring clarity to Jason’s life and as a result, after nearly three rewarding and challenging years as a Vice-President on the Public Affairs team at Ogilvy Public Relations, Jason is transitioning back to government, politics and the non-profit world this year. He is currently teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University.

As we reflect on last year and begin to look ahead, we are most appreciative and grateful for your friendship. And, we look forward to staying in touch with you throughout the rest of 2008. If you are visiting Washington this year, please let us know. We would love to get together.

The best way to reach us is via our email addresses – JacquelineLinde@yahoo.com and Jasonplinde@yahoo.com, and our mailing address is 3517 Leland Street, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

Have a wonderful 2008!

 Sincerely yours,

 

Jacqueline, Jason and Jack