Hello ... Hello to all our dear Friends and Family, Here it is, a snapshot of Helman's Heaven! I always say better late than never, I hope you'll understand why when you read on. It has been an incredible year of chance and intense growth for everyone in our family and hopefully for yours also. G-d's power and grace has worked miracles in all of our lives, literally forcing us to work together while allowing us to play together. One of Dale's first cards to me said, Work Hard! Play Hard!. That's been our motto since we met.
I vividly remember last New Year's Eve 2002, when the children and I were at First Night
in Monterey, California. From a crowd of ten thousand, I turned around to see the good
Dr. Bennetts, and his son, who accompanied us to ring-in the New Year. He incidentally became
one of my closest confidants in the medical world, along with Dr. Shaber in the same arena.
"Go into the office and take over. Hire a neurologist and let the manager go...!"
What??? I'm a school teacher.
I know nothing about medicine or business. Sparing the details,
while Dale was on a medical leave of absence, I managed the medical practice - interviewing
and hiring three neurologists (such a strange breed), releasing a "difficult" manager,
and auditing our accounts for the past three years.
Dr. Dale has always single-handedly managed the practice, working long hours - and I rarely
stepped foot into the office. I soon became well acquainted with our excellent staff and began
the recommended face lift ... replacing the old 60's orange carpet, framing my favorite
international art prints, and creating a hospitable environment out of chaos.
My brother Spencer new helps us manage both businesses. As a "side job", I continue to be the
"CFO" of DMA Properties (remember the pet boys Danny, Mo and Aaron?)
with several "new construction" homes in escrow, mortgages, insurance, utility bills ... and taxes ...
does it ever end? So when people ask me, "Are you still working or just staying at home",
I simply respond, "No, I don't have a teaching job right now." That said, I miss and even
dream about my past life so much that I am the volunteer science teacher in Moshe's class.
The newlyweds, Elisabeth and Terrel, shared their joyful news with us at the holidays last year,
giving us gifts that spoke of "grandmother" and "grandfather". How disheartened they were at the onset of the
war in Iraq. Terrel left last March and has only returned recently for two weeks in November to see his wife
and baby - Maximum Xavier was born July 29 at 6:04 and weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces. Yes, that makes Dale and I
grandparents, while Moshe, Aaron and Daniel are young uncles. I visited them for the birth, later taking
the boys to meet their nephew "baby Max". Elisabeth continues to be our bookkeeper for RentRight,
working at home so she can be mommy too!!
Rachel has been attending Junior College studying General Education and Criminal Justice. She is one of
our lead receptionists at Central California Neurology. An avid animal lover, she enjoys our goldens
Safi Imani & Nala, her Persian cat Carino, her turtle and bunnies, and is creating a salt water aquarium.
She found new love this autumn season in Adam, who comes to visit daily and often carpools to night school
with her. Originally from the south, Adam has elegant manners and is the son of a Baptist Minister.
Rachel enjoys the home cooking and family gatherings with Adam's family, and Adam, well he's learning to
"sink or ski" down the slopes of Heavenly Valley to keep up with Rachel.
Rebekah graduated from Independent Studies High School with honors this past June. She promptly
producted resumes extolling her work ethics and moral character. Not surprisingly, she received job offers
in every store to which she had applied at the mall. Originally she had tried to juggle The Body Shop,
Macy's, and Victoria's Secret, while finally settling on the latter. She has tried to quit
since then, but her boss says that she could talk anyone into buying anything. She has aspirations in
history/legal fields, and is also working on her General Education. She is still with Matt,
her high school sweetheart. Matt is now a waiter at Fresh Cream, a local four star (****)
restaurant on the wharf.
Juliana finished her ninth grade year in Independent Studies while taking gymnastics, dance, and drum
lessons in Monterey. Over the summer, she went to visit Elisabeth in Tennessee, excelling in some
English riding lessons and gymnastics. She then attended Sorenson's Ranch School in Utah
for the first semester of tenth grade. There she learned about the discipline of ranch life,
animal husbandry, and some therapy for teens. She celebrated the New Year with us at Snowbird Ski Resort
in Utah, tearing up the slopes on her board. It was gratifying to have her back with us.
This year she plans upon further independent studies, continuing her sports and music activities,
and maybe working part-time at the office.
Moshe, six, finished kindergarten and began first grade this year. He detested the long hour and rigid
schedule at first, but is acclimating rapidly. He's been "ready" to read for a few years, so the magic of
peer pressure and competition worked its spell and he's on level 1! He'd rather be building legos
and fixing things on the ranch with Troy, but that's the breaks of being a kid! He was also quite the
skiier in Utah, snowplowing down some pretty hairy black diamond runs ... Whoops! We took a wrong turn,
sorry Moshe, you'll have to slide down on your tush! Thanks Mr. Ski Patrol for the lift!
Aaron, four, is hastily advancing in "preschool", and will start kindergarten in the fall. He is still
fascinated with Thomas and all his railroad friends. He only wears Thomas clothes and shoes, sleeps in a
Thomas bed, colors and reads Thomas books and incessantly reinacts all the Thomas movies with this nearly
complete collection of Thomas trains and accessories. He insists his grandma, Blossom, must find a
Thomas menorah. He often asks, "Who's your favorite character?", he often asks, replying
"Mine is Thomas".
Daniel, my two year old baby, is almost as big as Aaron! He had long curls reaching down his back and
wasn't due for a haircut until brother Aaron chopped it off one day. When interrogated Aaron replied,
"Daddy said Daniel looked like a girl and needed a haircut." Well, can't cry over cut hair!
Our talented day nanny Susanna, who was never afforded an education in Mexico, has taught Daniel and Aaron
all their letters, numbers, and corresponding objects in English and Spanish. Daddy dreams of our
growing boy as a football player, yet he looks so much like me that he may as well be a naturalist
and explorer - our "Daniel Boone". Daniel has his first ski lessons last week at both Lake Tahoe and in Utah.
Dale is back in the saddle working miracles alongside G-d, attending to the infirmities of all his
devoted patients. One of the greatest lessons I learned being in his office this year is how much his patients
love and respect him. I listened to and consoled many who would not see any other doctor until their
"Dr. Helman" returned. Their wishes and prayers came true last June when he resumed work.
He is stronger than ever, running five miles by day and devouring philosophy books by night. He is
a little quiter and more recluse, but we are still intent on making him "hit the slopes" this year.
It's never too late to start.
Our family enjoyed several vacation outings this year. We drove to Oregon last winter during that
snow storm...flew to Maui in the spring for some first-time Hawaiian fun-in-the-sun...spent hot summer
days in Tennessee sippin' sweet tea and awaiting Max ... returned to Detroit for Bubbie's 95th birthday
during the dog days of August...and rented an SUV there with Grandma Mills, driving cross country
via Tennessee - just missing the East Coast blackout on our way back to California with several
sightseeing stops along the way, including a flat tire in the rain on Nevada state Highway 50 - the
"loneliest highway in America".
Disneyworld in the fall at the Animal Kingdom Hotel was the
little boy's favorite fantasy - yet mine was getting snowed-in the Cliff Lodge of the
Wasatch Mountains near Salf Lake City during the year's final week. We kissed the old year goodbye
with dynamite blastings and snowstorms. The signs at the doors read, "Interlodge Travel Closed.
Avalanche Danger. It is illegal to leave this building." Oh well! We feasted with our fellow
holiday travelers.
After the storm, the powder was a sweet six feet deep and the trees were dusted in crystals of ice!
It is well to be back home on the ranch with orchards, gardens and animals to tend but, my all-time
favorite place to be is still Marshall Trail in the national forest lands of South Lake Tahoe.
Please feel free to visit our website
and home free to friends and family when available:
| www.heavenlytahoehomerentals.com | dhelman@sbcglobal.net |
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS!
Dale & Dana,
Elisabeth & Terrell & Max,
Rachel, Rebekah, Juliana,
Moshe, Aaron, and Daniel
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| The Helman family on Hawaii during spring 2003. |
