1989

Lots of mini-reunions, planned and unplanned, filled our fall. Jamie Heller, husband Jed Weissberg and son Chet hosted us for brunch on a New York visit in October. Chet, who is a whiz on his tricycle, will be 2 around the time this column is published. Jamie is the deputy managing editor at the WallStreet Journal online. They live downtown, just a few blocks from ground zero, and were forced out of their apartment for many months in the wake of September 11. The neighborhood is coming back to life—lots of young families, including Jen Kochman Marrus, her husband, Andrew, and new son, who was just a few months old when we ran into them with Jamie at a playground nearby. Our New York trip also included a visit with the always-lovely Caroline Luft.

Fast forward to another weekend day at a playground, this one near our house in Bethesda, Maryland, and the familiar figure walking by looks an awful lot like Adam Lehman. Turns out that Adam lives just up the road in Potomac, Maryland, and he was there for a Sunday romp with his wife, Belinda, and daughters Dahlia, 4 and Jessica, who is almost 2.

Thanksgiving weekend brought a visit to D.C. from two Bay Area families. John Shaw and his wife, Elizabeth, who live in San Francisco, stopped by with their three kids Jack, 8, Margot, 6, and Hank, 3. Jack busied himself with stacks of old comic books, while Margot and Hank provided plenty of entertainment for our toddler daughter Julia. Joining the fun was Justin Kramer, the almost 4-year-old son of Dave Kramer and his wife, Jody, who live in Menlo Park, California, and were visiting relatives nearby for turkey day. Their daughter, Caroline, who was 8 months old at the time, kept an eye on the bigger kids from the safety of a high chair. Joining the adult end of the festivities was Ed Barker, who lives in Washington and seemed highly entertained by all the kids.

In other news, Siobhan Wescott has left Alaska for the much warmer climate of Boston, Massachusetts, where she's a first-year student at Harvard Medical School. She writes: "I may have found the way around joseph Brodsky's caution of boredom increasing with age. Since starting medical school, lam never bored!" She says the adjustment to such an urban environment is a bit rough, but she loves school.

Kerry Kisiel Jones must be way too busy to ever think about being bored. She writes that Molly Kisiel Jones was born on November 29, joining big brother, Eryk, who was 19 months old when she wrote her note. She says she will be taking time off from teaching this spring but plans to return to her 11th year of teaching fifth grade next fall: "I am continuing graduate coursework toward my sixth-year degree in education administration and supervision. However, it will be a while before I consider a major career change with two children still in diapers!'

Tom Avril and his wife, Karen, are the proud parents of Charlotte Saxe Avril, who was born in the fall. She joins big sister Eleanor. Tom covers the environment for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which he says includes writing about everything from the Asian long-horned beetle to air pollution.

Finally, from the rumor mill—JeffKauffman, an orthopedic surgeon, has been spotted doing some kind of sports medicine spots on the Weather Channel. Can anyone confirm or deny this? We're waiting, Jeff.

5912 Aberdeen Road, Bethesda,MD 20817; jennifer.avellino.89@alum.dartmouth.org