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2017 Annual History of James "Jym" Andris and Stephen L. Nichols
It is good to start this epistle on my 79th birthday, Dec. 3, for this year, Stephen and I changed our permanent residence, not a frequent occurrence for us. About a year ago, Stephen found he could no longer live in the townhouse; too many stairs and floors, and too much maintenance. We set out early in the year to explore several area independent living facilities, and ended up settling at Bethesda Gardens in Kirkwood, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb. We moved on April 18, and sold our townhouse the day it listed, June 1. So this year, for the most part was really about a) moving and b) settling in.
While we were moving, it seemed as if we could never get it all done. The basement and closets were chock full, and about 20% treasures and 80% junk. What should never have been put on the back burner was now burning at the front door. Jan Parker, our realtor, guided us confidently through the process. She recommended a good estate sale man, Peter Eckrich. Once we had moved, he and his family and employees had the place ready for the sale in two weeks. We sold or gave SO MUCH away, since we knew we were moving from 2800 square feet plus basement and two yards to 1000 square feet plus a 5 x 9 storage room down the hall. It was not only hard, it was overwhelming to make so many choices quickly, and we regretted some of the decisions and oversights later. But we got through it. One of the things that helped A LOT was that I found a program to simulate the move, and we could sit in our den in the old house and visualize what things would go where in the new place. We planned even down to the pictures on the wall, and when we moved, I was able to tell the movers EXACTLY where each piece of furniture would go.
We had wonderful neighbors at our old townhouse, and for a while we missed the camaraderie of living on an integrated block where we could daily greet and talk and share gossip over our back decks as we each went about our busy lives. But after only a few weeks here, that was replaced by a whole new community, and really, in many respects, a good community for us to be in at this stage in our lives. About 130 of us live in three buildings, like separate apartment buildings, except we share a common dining room and several smaller community gathering places. Stephen and I always take our supper in the dining room, but prepare our own breakfast or lunch and occasionally eat out. People here are friendly, and most of the time, we eat with two others at a four top. On Friday we eat at a bigger table after four guys struggle over the bridge table.
We've made many friends, in our own hallway wing, in the library, working jigsaw puzzles there or in the grand living room. And there is a grand piano there that I occasionally play and people appreciate. But most of the time, we just go on with our lives with our apartment as our base. We still participate fully at Trinity Episcopal in St. Louis and have our old friends and established recreational dates.
As far as the apartment itself, we've included some photos, which can be enlarged by clicking on them. As you can see, the living dining area is large enough to comfortably host four people, and there is a "penthouse" view from the small balcony. There is a full kitchen, and since we needed it, the 2nd restroom was upgraded to a laundry room. The 2nd bedroom doubles as an office. And finally, the main bedroom is large and light, and the main bathroom and walk-in closet open into it. There is also a large utility/pantry off of the kitchen.
Stephen adds that there nice parks and places to go in Kirkwood. He has been going each week to do water movement activities at the YMCA's pool. They even have a sauna. This summer Jym walked a mile or two each way from Bethesda to the downtown area and back. The Amtrak runs through town five blocks north of us.
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| Living/Dining Room | View from Living Room |
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| Kitchen | Laundry/2nd Restroom |
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| Office/2nd Bedroom | Bedroom |
A lot has happened in this year. Health issues continue to plague Stephen, but he still continues on with his rather indomitable spirit. Much of the year both of us have been literally appalled by what passes for governance in our nation and our state, and while this is not the place to vent these frustrations, they have taken a toll on our spirit and perhaps even our health. In December Stephen suffered a small stroke and is recuperating steadily from that. We are in the process of setting up an in-house assisted living program.
We got to visit with Stephanie, Dawn and Zander in February. They have sold their old house in Hanson, MA and moved closer to the coast in Scituate. Zander continues to grow as a ballet student at the South Shore Ballet School and Theatre, and in many other ways. This summer he studied with the Bolshoi Ballet's Summer Intensive in Connecticut for three weeks. They are coming to visit us again just after Christmas. I have included a one minute clip of Zander dancing during dress rehearsal for this year's performance of the Nutcracker.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we hope that your year was a good one and filled with as many blessings as ours has been.
Stephen and Jym