{"id":6059,"date":"2012-03-22T14:06:59","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T18:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=6059"},"modified":"2026-06-25T21:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T01:32:17","slug":"chapter-48-into-the-sunset-and-happily-ever-after","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=6059","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 48: Into the Sunset and Happily Ever After"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Great Big Beautiful Tomorrows<\/h3>\n<p>We would go on to buy two single-family homes after selling the townhouse, and we are now living in our Dream House, pictured at the top of the page.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/My-Song.mp3\"><\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4859\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4859\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4859\" title=\"Me, Dad, and John\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/me-dad-john.jpg\" alt=\"June 2007, Dad's Birthday\" width=\"500\" height=\"597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/me-dad-john.jpg 457w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/me-dad-john-251x300.jpg 251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4859\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">June 2007, Dad&#8217;s Birthday at the Bernards Inn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13313\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13313\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/25thAnnivStroll.png\" alt=\"Our 25th Anniversary\" width=\"500\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/25thAnnivStroll.png 321w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/25thAnnivStroll-261x300.png 261w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our 25th Anniversary in Aruba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After accepting the Dow Jones job offer, I began teaching Sunday school to continue with the ambition to help kids.<\/p>\n<p>I played percussion in church, including drum set at Contemporary services, and on holidays and at special events.<\/p>\n<p>I also have a great time supporting John in his interests, and he&#8217;s attended my concert band performances. In 2004, we joined a local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/31336526243\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drum &amp; Bugle Corps<\/a> so we could continue to march and make music, as we had in college.<\/p>\n<p>John&#8217;s Information Technology career really took off, with much hard work and an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) Certification. <span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">His job placement <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">would ebb and flow with the economy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">He also earned credentials in IT Security, and pursued his CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) in 2012. John continues to build upon his career in Internetwork Engineering<\/span>, and retired spring of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>John became a <a href=\"http:\/\/mtzion135.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freemason<\/a> in 1995 and achieved Master of Mt. Zion Lodge #135 in 1999. He also joined the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/NJ14thVols\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">14th New Jersey Volunteers<\/a> Civil War Reenactment unit, and returned to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kpvfc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Volunteer Firefighting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>John received many awards and recognition as a member of South Brunswick&#8217;s Bravest, including Top Responder, and also served as Vice President. For all he is and has achieved over the years, I am extremely proud of him.<\/p>\n<p>I also started and directed a local children&#8217;s a cappella choir. For a brief time, I took flight lessons at Princeton Airport, and went skydiving down the shore for my birthday.<\/p>\n<p>I participated in a symphonic band based at Rutgers, and designed freelance Web sites, including <a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/RUAWSscreengrab-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one for the Rutgers group<\/a> (home page screen grab).<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Bowling in a league with Dad\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=14512\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bowling in a league with Dad<\/a>, my favorite bowler for a few years was also a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14370\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14370\" style=\"width: 1021px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-14370\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/WVUmacys.png\" alt=\"WVU leads the 90th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade\" width=\"1021\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/WVUmacys.png 656w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/WVUmacys-335x169.png 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/WVUmacys-600x302.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WVU leads the 90th Macy&#8217;s Thanksgiving Day Parade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13314\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13314\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13314\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv.png 1391w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv-258x300.png 258w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv-515x600.png 515w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv-768x894.png 768w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/30thAnniv-1319x1536.png 1319w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13314\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our 30th Anniversary in the Great Smoky Mountains, TN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2017, we gathered on the streets of Manhattan with fellow Mountaineer graduates to witness our beloved Pride lead the 90th Macy&#8217;s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They would appear again in 2024, but leading Santa through Herald Square.<\/p>\n<p>We return to WVU as a part of the 300+ member <a href=\"http:\/\/wvualumniband.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alumni Band<\/a> in the Fall to participate in the Homecoming Parade as well as the game. We also stop at our old haunt, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wingsolerestaurant.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wings<\/a>&#8221; where we had our first date.<\/p>\n<p>John and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary at a lovely Aruba boutique resort and spa, and then spent our 30th Anniversary in the Great Smoky Mountains.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=14929\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My beautiful Dad passed over on September 16, 2015<\/a>. Though I am joyful that he is again with my Mom, I miss him deeply. \u00a0Life here will never be the same, but I know we&#8217;ll meet again some day.<\/p>\n<p>I was employed at Dow Jones until 2022, when they suddenly outsourced my department to an independent licensing PR agency. Fortunately, I was able to transfer my HTML skills to the new company, Wright&#8217;s Media. Having worked\u00a0 from home since March of 2020, I continued that arrangement. I flourished as a Graphic Designer, expanding my role in many ways. I also taught myself InDesign and myriad programs in the field.<\/p>\n<p>I was able to contribute to Wright&#8217;s Media Marketing Department as a part of the Graphics Team, which I enjoyed. I&#8217;ve rustled up a decent <a href=\"https:\/\/lasfriedline.crevado.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">portfolio<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, I earned my Web \/ UI Design certification from Sessions College for Professional Design. It was a challenging project-based multidisciplinary online series of courses, and I aced every one.<\/p>\n<p>Laid off in June of 2025, I&#8217;ve been exploring illustration and taking courses. After all, drawing was my first love\u2014now, I can enjoy developing these skills, and perhaps seek an illustration gig.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16723\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16723\" style=\"width: 1079px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16723 \" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Mercer County Symphonic Band\" width=\"1079\" height=\"657\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-335x204.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-600x366.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mercer-052224_2000px@2x-2048x1248.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me on drum set during &#8220;Dueling Banjos&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I joined the <a title=\"Mercer County Symphonic Band\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mercerband.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mercer County Symphonic Band<\/a> after leaving the Rutgers group. It was good to be on stage again after 4 years.<\/p>\n<p>We celebrated our 35th Anniversary on a Mediterranean cruise, and saw Lisbon, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, Pisa, Rome, and Naples\/Amalfi Coast. It was a wonderful experience with my Forever Love.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18156\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cruise-2025.png\" alt=\"35th Anniversary Sail Away\" width=\"1000\" height=\"793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cruise-2025.png 1000w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cruise-2025-335x266.png 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cruise-2025-600x476.png 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cruise-2025-768x609.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There have been family challenges as well as healing along the way. Life has not been easy, but there are myriad blessings that cannot be overlooked. Our nieces, Zowie and Myla, are grown and are amazing people.<\/p>\n<p>I will always be thankful for everything and everyone who has been a part of this Drummergirl&#8217;s Life. \ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13050\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/drum-avatar-thumbnail-sm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" \/> <a title=\"Return to Memoirs\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=13681\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Return to Chapters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Great Big Beautiful Tomorrows We would go on to buy two single-family homes after selling the townhouse, and we are now living in our Dream House, pictured at the top of the page. map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false} After accepting the Dow Jones job offer, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=6059\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 48: Into the Sunset and Happily Ever After&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15399,"parent":4,"menu_order":49,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6059","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6059"}],"version-history":[{"count":68,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18228,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6059\/revisions\/18228"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}