Susan Lillard

Updated August 2015:

After graduating from UMass, and a stint in the Army for Dick, we lived for over 30 years in NY state, about 25 miles north of NYC. Dick taught and coached and I taught preschool part time and raised our sons. During that time I got hooked on running, ending up with 25 marathons under my belt, and many shorter races. Friends from the local running club filled the many training miles with laughter and fun.

After Dick retired we moved to NH in May 2005. Swanzey is a small town just south of Keene, which is a big town hosting a small state college. Consequently, there are more events happening than in your average NH town. Dick loves being back in Red Sox territory, too. Nearby is a YMCA which has helped him survive the long, cold winters which I love. The biggest plus to moving north was that Marianne is only one hour twenty minutes away so we’re able to get together much more often than before.

In 2010 we decided that country life was good, we’d met a lot of nice people, and were ready to commit to staying north, so we bought a condo. In the winter Dick restricts his activity to the Y, swimming and working out. In the summer he cycles and plays golf. Outdoors all year is my choice of venue for running and walking. Beautiful Mt. Monadnock is only 25 minutes away and has 38 trails so offers lots of options for fun (microspikes or snowshoes often required in winter for those gorgeous hikes). A new friend pulled me back into tennis and I’m loving that, too. Just have to hope the old body holds up! My only health issue has been vitiligo, which is an immune system disorder. It doesn’t affect how I feel, thankfully, but makes me appear leopard-like, especially by the end of summer. I think that’s part of why I love winter. I can stay covered up and look normal!

One afternoon a week I volunteer in the radiology department at our local hospital. The people are nice and it feels good to give back a little.

Our older son, a chef in a nearby town, is still single (e-harmony hasn’t come through yet) and lives in Keene. Our younger son met a wonderful Dutch girl online and they got married in 2011. Until June of this year, they lived in our old NY house (so we had a place to stay when going back for visits). They then decided to join the rest of the family up in NH, which delighted all of us. Dick and I decided to use the event as motivation to move into a single level unit so that we head trouble off at the pass if we run into restricting health issues. They moved into our old unit, we moved into our new, and all of us got lots of upper body work in the process.

It turned out that all the activity was a great distraction because we had to put our beloved 14 year old dog to sleep in May. That was tough. Reading, computer time, and pre-dinner wine balance out our days. The biggest puzzle in our lives is trying to figure out WHO are those old people we keep seeing in the mirror around here!

Hope to see lots of you at the 50th reunion in October.

-------------------------------

Updated 6/7/05

We've made some big changes since the last reunion. Foremost, Dick and I moved up to Swanzey, NH, in May 2005. It's a small town just south of Keene, which is a big town with a small state college, so there are events happening more often than your average NH town. There is also a YMCA, which will hopefully help Dick survive the longer winter (which I love). Another huge plus is that Marianne is only 1 hr 20 mins away now---much better than 4 hr 30 mins! We have a record going---seven weekends, seven visits, and love it! NH also has NO income tax. We're really enjoying it so far----the country is beautiful (we have four covered bridges within an hour's bike ride), it's so much less congested than the area we left, and the air is cleaner. Not to mention the excitement----just last weekend across the Connecticut River in Brattleboro, Vermont, they had "the strolling of the heifers", an actual parade of the critters right down the main drag followed by a black and white costume dance in the evening! For three years now, Dick has been retired from over 30 years of teaching. He's been doing some coaching (in NY), going to the Y, biking and playing golf whenever he can. Just a few weeks ago he joined a golf club up here, and is loving being back in Red Sox country! Since a little before we moved, I'm retired, too. We may look for something part time after awhile (and after our 4 legged baby adjusts---she's too anxious still to leave alone). For now, I'm running, cycling, rollerblading and reading. It's a tough life, but somebody's got to do it! We're looking forward to climbing Mt. Monadnock (nearby), and investigating the multitude of parks around. Winter will be the real test of the wisdom of our choice. (We're renting until we're sure.) We've left the house in NY in our sons' care. Yes, they're delighted (they couldn't afford to move out, but we could!!) Eric, 30, is a chef in a local restaurant. Greg, 25, is a computer assistant/troubleshooter in the local school system. Neither has a serious relationship at the moment. ( Grandchildren are looking less and less likely!)

Looking forward to seeing lots of you at the reunion.