Merry Christmas from the Nádas Family

Wow! The years really go by fast. I hope that’s the only sign of aging….

Krisztina (knadas@mindspring.com) and Scott (sundem28@hotmail.com) did it again. They gave us another grandson. Sándor Lars was born November 20 and has become the favorite plaything of his big (18 month old) brother Zoltán. Zoli is an intelligent, exciting, busy, and very active little man, so his parents are going to have their hands full with two – and especially Krisztina when Scott is out to sea – which happens to US Navy submarine officers with some regularity. Erika is hoping to go play with babies for about a month in January.

Gyula aka Jay (eye_spin@go.com) is in his second year of Pharmacy school. Some of the courses he’s taking sound like medical school to me (like med-chem). He moved into an apartment near school, along with a couple of other Pharmacy students. They are all friends, serious about their studies, so there is minimal conflict, and some fun, too.

Zsolt aka Z (nadas@uiuc.edu) is in his second year at U of I school of engineering in computer science. He is finding it quite challenging. Some of the stuff he’s studying is new even to Gyuszi. This summer he had a job putting up a database web page – again in a situation where he had to make decisions on his own without guidance – I guess he’s growing up. He was even a "policeman" at the scout jubilee camp. I think it’s all making him feel old – and being in his last teen year adds to that feeling.

Tas (tjnadas@hotmail.com) graduated from Queen of All Saints in June – the last one out of there, after 22 years of having a child in that school. He is now a resident student at Marmion Academy – where both his brothers started high school. He is still in the process of getting adjusted – finding where he fits in, figuring out how to study successfully, staying awake in spite of short nights, etc. The teachers like him – he is courteous, articulate, and humorous. He made a "rite of passage" as one of the big boys at the scout jubilee camp – including sleeping in the open under tarps, and hiking 25 miles (you wouldn’t want any part of the blisters from that one). He says it was the best camp ever!

Gyuszi, aka Julius (julius@nadas.org) still chairs enough committees and departments to furnish a house – not to mention participating in many more. Oh, yes, he also teaches. His days and nights are full, just trying to keep up with the demands of all his work. He’s enjoying leisure more, though. We’ve seen more movies together in the last six months than in the last six (or sixteen) years. We had a wonderful – though whirlwind – trip to Baja California with a Sportsmobile caravan last spring. What an adventure – starting with 29 ½ hours driving Chicago to San Diego. The desert and the mountains were very new to us, and we traipsed all over. Then in June, Zolika (and his mother) came to play for about a month. Nagypapa Gyuszi was delighted to be rolling all over the floor with a toddler again.

Erika (erika@nadas.org) is coping – quite successfully – with "empty nest." Two days a week, she teaches at Wright College. Two evenings a week, she teaches a fitness class at the YMCA, and one morning a week she teaches three fitness classes in a row. Weekends, Tas is home. A new computer, and DSL also take some attention. So the time gets filled quite adequately – with little of the "loose end" feeling. It is quiet at home, though. Check out my web page for baby pictures: nadas.org, members, erika, members, krisztina