Since this is a reload of everything that was lost on dipdopdoop, here's a breakdown of our major characters:
- Kristie - I first met her in 1981 and immediately fell in love with her. We've been friends ever since then, and even better, we've been married for almost 21 years. She's my best friend, a great wife and a fantastic mother. She balances our relationship terrifically, she can be the stern mom or the cool mom, which balances out my usual role, the inconsistent and goofy dad. Kristie works (currently) for the School, in the Administration office. I like to describe her job as living at the corner of Tuition Street (the school's major income) and Payroll Ave. (their biggest expense). It's not a great place to even visit, let alone hang out. It is a very tense position, with a lot of pressure and challenges.
- Kelly & Allie - Kelly is almost 17 and a great daughter (I'm a little biased). Allie (aka Allison) is almost 15 and is also a great daughter. Kel is very contemplative, quiet and shy, and a great artist(drawing, painting etc..). Allie is very impulsive, crazy and out going and is a great performer (singing, acting, dancing...) They both love the Lord and are great girls. It's hard to believe that these two little girls are both beautiful teenagers, closing in on the end of high school. Both attend the School and have become major contributors in their drama/theater department.
- Martha, Rita & Matilda - No introduction would be adequate if I failed to mention our pets. Martha is our 8 year old Golden Retriever. Kristie and I get up and take her for a walk 6 days a week...before 5AM! She is a good dog and admittedly, the walks do us as much good (a little exercise and quality time, even if it is dark out). Rita is our 18 year old cat. We got her as this little tiny kitten before the girls were born...Kristie had never had a cat. She's hanging in there, but is clearly on the trailing end of her time here. Matilda is our other cat, she's 9. We originally had another dog, Sadie. We got both Sadie and Rita at the shelter on the same day, like I said Kristie never had a cat and I never had a dog, so it seemed cool. Sadie got hit by a car in '95 when she was about 6 or so. We figured we were done with dogs. Then a few years later, in a week moment, we adopted another dog, Eddie. Apparently Eddie had issues and liked to run away, so after a few weeks, we "returned" him. We decided that we just weren't home enough for a dog but the girls convinced me that we could handle another cat...enter Matilda. Then about a year later, in a moment of true weakness, I said yes to getting Martha...and things haven't been the same since.
- The Shaffers - My mom & dad live in Broomfield, a 'burb of Denver, where they still hold down the big old family house (but it's for sale, so it's days are numbered). My dad has gotten very old, very fast in the last couple of years, but occasionally I see that old spark. My mom is the true matriarch of the clan, but not in a controlling way. I get my fanatic love for the Broncos from them. My older brother Greg lives in Minneapolis with his wife Nikki and his son Dave, who just graduated from high school. Greg has had a ton of health problems but God has continued to bless him. My younger brother Keith lives in Denver and remains single. He works way too hard and has had his share of problems. I wish we talked more.... Little sister Cindy lives in Aurora (another suburb of Denver) with her husband Paul and son Noah, a precious 5 years old. Cindy is doing a great job of balancing being a mom, working and being very attentive to our parents, who she visits literally every weekend.
- The Zahns - Kristie is the youngest of 9 kids, so there won't be a kid by kid breakdown here. Her mom & dad live in a retirement joint after selling the big house a few years ago. Don is a WWII vet (jumped out of a plane during D-Day) and is a piece of work. Norma has Parkinsons and has really decayed in the last few years. Kristie has a twin sister, Kathie who lives in town, we see her occasionally. They used to be a lot closer, but their lives have moved farther apart, pulled by their family, work and general interests. Kathie and her husband, Sean, have two kids, Michelle and Daniel.
- The guys at work - I'm lucky that I work with people that I both respect and enjoy to be around and learn from. Ray is a good friend and a wanna be stand-up comedian. Jim is possibly the smartest guy I've ever met, but is an amazingly well rounded dude, playing guitar, doing art and home improvement stuff. Greg is an excellent programmer and flat out histerical, which is unusual for an ex-Marine sharp shooter. Doug is an amazingly smart guy, with a razor sharp wit. And Leslie, the lone female in the bunch, is a great friend and an amazingly hard worker. We're all held together by a good guy who's our boss, Jon.
- The School - Normally an institution like a school wouldn't be listed as a "character" but in this case, it is. I'm not going to set a link or mention it by name...those who know me, know where it is. Those of you who don't, don't worry...that's a detail you can live with out. But the School is a major character here since both girls attend it, Kristie works there, I used to work there as a teacher and we are very involved with it (maybe too involved). To top it off, our church used to physically meet there...so for years we were in the building at least 6 days a week. The School (I like it capitalized) is where a large number of our friends are, both as parents, co-workers and teachers. Some of our best friends, like Erica and David came from the School. When Kristie and I are out every morning, the School occupies the majority of our conversation.