We enter a new era of change during the next five years.
There was a time . . .
When eleven you were.
Your voice, a delight.
Your life was a blur.
We loved you so.
Your future was bright.
A color shone forth,
Blue was the light.
When eleven you were.
Your voice, a delight.
Your life was a blur.
We loved you so.
Your future was bright.
A color shone forth,
Blue was the light.
Tisha matures to a teenager. She, Jodie and Kimmie start singing jingles for Stan and they get paid. They become the youth trio at Calvary. What a neat experience to watch the girls behind the mikes singing at the studio or singing with the choir at church. Tisha is confirmed at Calvary by “PK” Knutsen.
She becomes prettier and prettier and less confident as time passes.
One of Tisha’s best friends during 6th and 7th grade is Meg McDonough. Meg goes with us on our ski trips. She and T have a real connection during these years. On T’s 7th grade “Over 90” outing, Meg, T and I sit and talk about what they will be doing in high school and beyond. These girls have big plans. There is no reason that they won’t achieve their goals.
Tisha goes to 8th grade at Francis Parker -- not a good move. We thought that changing T to Francis Parker in 8th grade would better prepare her for high school – larger school, “college prep” curriculum, etc. We were wrong. This school is to “hoity toity” for T. The kids are not nice to her and she losses more self-esteem. We see this, but can’t figure out what to do – counseling, extra tutoring, meetings at school, positive reinforcement – we try them all but nothing seems to be working.
We continue to ski during the winter. When Tisha is 13, she, Jodie Coffman and I go on the annual Calvary back pack trip together. We are tent mates. The girls get the tent. I get to put it up, take it down, carry it from one site to another and sleep on the ground under the stars. We cross the Sierra’s with the girls carrying 25 pound packs and Dad carrying the 70 pounder. It is a great time. High in the mountains, camping under the stars, crossing the Sierra’s at 12,500 feet, it’s wonderful. T and Jodie pay Chris Formo and David Knutzen $5 each to carry their packs from one campsite to the next. Tisha hates this trip. I love it. Brooke and I will do the same trip when she is about this age with the same results.
We exchange homes one winter with a family from Sacramento. They use our home while we use their ski home at Lake Tahoe. Our first trip to the Tahoe area.
In 1986, we take an extended vacation to Dannebrog, Nebraska for the Grim family reunion and the Dannebrog centennial. We pick up our new van at the dealer and leave for the trip. In Dannebrog the girls find out that they really do have relatives. Over 100 relatives on my mother’s side of the family attend the reunion. This is a small town 4th of July experience with parade, fireworks and politician speaking at the park pavilion. You couldn’t ask for more. Tisha asks as we are leaving if she could come back someday to visit. It will never happen. On the trip we have stops in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park at the Buffalo Bill Cody Riding Ranch, South Dakota’s badlands and Mount Rushmore, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Nancy’s Uncle Otts in Arizona. Great trip, great experiences, great family.
Our Thanksgivings and Christmas’ now include John and Kay Hansen and their kids Kirsten and Kate along with the McCracken’s -- gourmet food, constant chatter, good times.
Tisha starts at Torrey Pines High School. It is wrong from the beginning. They misplace her registration and she must sit in the counseling office for the first three days -- not a good way for a new student to mix at a new school. I am elected to the Torrey Pines HS Site Council and Nancy is volunteering in the counseling office -- we are worried about the quality of education at Torrey Pines HS-- with justification. Tisha seems to have a complete lack of focus. Fortunately, her Carden School education compensates for the failure of Torrey to educate. Her grades still slip, but they don’t crater. Her friends are changing. Third major scare is when Tisha is riding with friends her freshman year when they roll their car. Fortunately no one is hurt. This is not the Tisha of only a few years ago. Tisha has become a confused girl.
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