So here I am, writing another year in review story – this time for 2005.  Wow, seems like this year went by so fast!  I guess that’s a sign it was a good one. 

In looking back at the last couple of year in review write-ups, I wrote about a lot of things then that still apply now, so I’m not going to mention those things again even though they were of just as much fun and importance to us this year, too.  Instead I’ll try to stay focused on new things in an effort not to bore anyone.  So with that said…

This was a great year for concerts!  Here are some that we went to: 

The David Crowder Band
Kelly Clarkson
Jump5
ZOEgirl
Maroon 5

These were some of the bigger names we saw, but we also went to some concerts featuring local and regional groups and individuals, too.  There’s so much fun and excitement with live music – just can’t get enough of it!

Many of you may remember (I hope) my friends that I call Julie and Jeff.  I introduced them – to each other as well as to nude recreation and living.  I’ve written a lot about that.  Anyway, the two of them were a couple for a long while and then things fell apart between them.  Well, I’m glad to be able to report that they are now back together.  How they reunited is a long story and it was certainly not what anybody expected, but they’re definitely an item now.  It took them a while to work through their issues and it was pretty dramatic at times (I was way too close to it a couple of times is how I know), but he was tenacious and she was receptive and now all seems well.  They’re very happy, and I’m very happy for them.  We do things together as couples fairly often as well as other times within our larger circle of friends.  And Julie and I?  We swore to be best friends forever, and that’s just what we are. 

Jeff became our latest victim – er’ I mean, guest – to go camping with us at the nudist campground where we are members.  I had hoped we could plan a time when they could both go with us, but towards the end of summer, it became apparent that that probably wasn’t going to happen.  So on a weekend when Julie had to be out of town, the three us spent the weekend at the campground.  (“Take the poor boy with you.  Otherwise, he’ll just pine away all weekend missing me,” was what she said, kidding around about everything as always.)  Anyway, it was fun showing him around and introducing him to everyone.  He loved it, of course.  The three of us all had a great time and had some really good in-depth conversations.  Next year, we hope to get them both to go over there with us.  That will be fun.  We had a lot of good trips to the campground this year, but the times we’ve taken someone with us have always been the best.

My husband and I celebrated our second anniversary this summer.  Very, very special.  Marriage is wonderful.  I fall more in love with my husband every single day.  He’s so amazing.  I could go on and on about him and about sharing our lives together, but you get the picture, so I’ll spare you. 

I had a very special time together with my husband’s younger sister, Beth at the end of her spring semester.  The prior year after her last final, I took her to lunch and then helped her pack up and load her car to go home for the summer.  I remembered how I always felt after that last final was over at last, wanting to relax and unwind, but usually there wasn’t anybody left to hang out with.  So I took the day off work to do some fun things with her.  It was a nice time for just the two of us to be together and talk in a relaxed, no-hurry manner. 

This year as the end of the semester was approaching, I suggested we do the same thing again if she wanted.  She eagerly agreed.  Then she asked if her best friend, Gina (whom I’ve also written a little about) could join us since they were both finishing finals at the same time and were going to be traveling together.  Of course, that was no problem.  Some time later, I mentioned to my friend, Ann, what I was planning with the girls and she suggested we come out to her place for the day.  We could spend the day outside around their pool and swim and sunbathe and have lunch.  The men of the house would be away – her husband at work and her son at school - so it would just be us girls. 

I ran it by Beth and she thought it sounded like fun.  She had met Ann at our wedding and had heard me talk a lot about her including the fact that they are a nudist household.  I discussed that with her explaining that just because we were out there, she would be under no pressure to be nude and that she would not be made to feel the least bit out of place or uncomfortable about anything.  I assured her how great Ann was about making people feel welcome.  I also suggested she run it by Gina to see how she felt about it.  She agreed to do that, but I think we both knew that Gina would absolutely love it. 

When the day came, the weather started off a little questionable.  It had rained during the night and was still cool and cloudy during the morning.  Fortunately, it started to clear off by the time I picked up the girls at their dorm and was almost totally clear by the time we got out to Ann’s. 

Introductions were made –Gina was meeting Ann for the first time, but like I said, Ann has a way of putting people instantly at ease with her right from the first moment, so it was fun right from the start.  There was lots of getting-acquainted talk while we put away the things I had brought for lunch.  Ann had offered to provide all that, too, but I couldn’t let her do that – just inviting us to spend the afternoon out at their place was way so generous just in itself. 

From the moment we arrived, Ann and Jim’s youngest child, Ruthie had been trying to get me to go upstairs with her to see her room – they had recently painted it a color that she had picked out “all by myself!” and she wanted me to see it – so Ann sent the two of us off while she and the girls stayed in the kitchen.  I knew Ann was going to give them her you-are-welcome-to-be-dressed-or-nude-either-way-is-perfectly-fine-I-just-want-you-to-be-comfortable-and-have-fun talk.  I had already filled her in with a little background on both of them; Ann can always be counted on to say and do just the right thing.

A couple of things to note here: the two oldest kids were not there; they were at school.  Also, at this point everyone was dressed except Ruthie.  She excitedly led me up to her room and proudly showed me the new color.  She showed me some of her things around the room.  Everything was all picked up and in its place.  She was so proud.  I could tell she had been planning all day to show it all to me.  So I asked her if I could leave my things in her room while we were there.  That pleased her.  As I got undressed, I started to lay my things on her bed, but no, she insisted that I put my things in her closet and in her dresser to keep the room looking nice.  So cute; and of course, I was her guest so I did what she asked. 

When we got back downstairs, Ann and the girls were already outside so we went out to join them.  Gina was already in the pool and was nude as I expected she would be.  She had undressed the instant they got out on the patio.  Beth told me this later.  She also told me that a big part of the reason she wanted to go to Ann’s was because she knew Gina would enjoy it so much.  Gina called out to us to come join her.  I noticed that Ann and Beth were sitting and talking - Beth in her swimsuit and Ann still in her cover-up.  I sent Ruthie on over to join Gina (Gina came to the side to meet her) while I stopped to talk to Beth and Ann.  But Ann motioned for me to go on and swim, which was her subtle way of telling me to get lost while she and Beth talked. 

Ruthie was already in the pool with Gina by now, showing Gina how she could swim.  I joined them.  It was still early in the season and the water was pretty chilly, so I quickly got all the way in.  The three of us talked and swam although mostly we were watching Ruthie swim and playing with her.  We were situated such that I was looking away from Ann and Beth; that was partially by design so as to leave them completely alone as Ann had indicated she wanted.  It was a little while later when I noticed a brief surprised look on Gina’s face, but then she just smiled and didn’t say anything.  In a few more seconds, Ann came along in the water beside me, put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed as a signal that everything was OK and then plunged under the water in front of us.  Next thing I knew, Beth was beside me and then she, too, plunged under the water.  Now it was completely unanimous – five swimmers; no swimsuits! 

Beth was calm and didn’t seem unnerved, but I could tell she was seriously evaluating this new experience.  Gina was the exuberant one.  She was exuberant about this for herself – this was her first time to actually swim nude and be nude anyplace outdoors other than the close confines of our little enclosed patio area.  But she was equally exuberant for Beth, constantly asking her how she felt and saying, “Isn’t this great?” and on and on.  I was afraid she was going to annoy Beth to the point she would get out and get dressed, but she didn’t.  I think one of the things that kind of helped Beth by sort of putting Gina in her place was, when Gina asked Beth, “What did Ann say to you that made you change your mind?” but before Beth could say anything, Ann quickly interjected in a coy manner, “Maybe that’s just Beth’s and my little secret.”  Beth picked right up on that and said, “Yeah!  It’s our little secret – so quit being so nosy!”  Some months later, I asked Beth what she and Ann had talked about out there that day and she reiterated that it’s their little secret.  So your guess is as good as mine as to what Ann really said to her. 

Our day was fantastic:  great weather to be outside and sunbathe, a nice pool to swim and soak in, and lots of good company to enjoy it all with.  We finally got around to eating a late lunch.  And when the two older kids, Mark and Sarah, got home from school, they joined us in the pool.  Before leaving for school that day, Ann had told Mark he wouldn’t be able to swim with us when he got home because there would be company and the girls might not be comfortable with him joining them.  Then when Sarah got in the pool with us, she mentioned how disappointed Mark was about having to stay in the house on such a nice afternoon.  Gina said, “Well he doesn’t have to stay away because of us.  We’re all in the water. That’s good enough.  Right, Beth?”  With a little reluctance, Beth replied, “Yeah, I guess so.”  Then Gina exclaimed, “Oh come on, Beth, he’s just a kid!  And besides – it’s his pool.”  Ann took up for Beth saying that she didn’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable, but Beth said that it would be fine and she could handle it, being in the water.  So Ann sent Sarah to go get Mark and when he came out, we played games in the water with the kids and all had fun.  There really was no sign of any uneasiness on the part of either Gina or Beth.  They even had some cute conversations with both kids, asking them questions about their classes and their teachers and other school-related things like that.  Both girls are interested in education.  It was a good time.

Later in the afternoon, we put things back in order, thanked Ann and the kids for all the great hospitality, and headed back.  We had finished loading the girls’ cars before we left the dorm so I just dropped them off and they then came on over to our place.  Brian came home a little early and we ate some dinner together and then the girls headed on out of town together.  It would be late before they got to Beth’s house.  Gina was staying there for the night and then heading on to her hometown from there. 

Early in the fall when they were both back here in school, Beth was over and the two of us were talking.  The subject of being out at Ann’s that day and spending the afternoon nude came up and she remarked that she probably never would have done anything like that ever if she’d never met me and that she doubted if Gina would have either.  We were talking a little more about how I had gotten started doing this and why and how it was kind of a lonely time until I had discovered some like-minded friends.  She seemed open to all I was saying, so I took a deep breath and decided to tell her about my website.  That news took her completely by surprise, but I explained that I had put it up to help people understand what nude recreation and living was about and for those that, like me, had discovered this desire within themselves and wondered whether or not they were the only ones. 

I went on to tell her that my site consisted mostly of stories that I had written about my own experiences along the way, but that it also had things written by others, too.  I told her that Brian had written some of the things that were out there.  And I told her that she was mentioned in a few of the stories.  That was the part that had me worried.  I wasn’t sure how she would take what I’d written about her.  When she and I had first met and throughout the early part of Brian’s and my relationship, she hadn’t displayed a very friendly attitude toward me.  What I had written about that was factual, but of course it wasn’t very flattering.  Relations between her and me now are so much better.  I wanted to be as completely open with her as she would allow, but I also didn’t want to cause any setbacks between us either.  Well…now she knew.  It was all out there and now all I could do was wait while she read my stories to see what would happen. 

It was not quite a week before I heard from her again.  She called one night and asked if she and Gina could stop by.  Of course it was OK.  Brian and I got dressed.  There was nothing specific that she had said, but I just had a sense that this was going to be about my site.  Brian knew that I had told her about it and he was fine with that.  “There’s nothing there but the truth,” was his comment.  So when they got there, I opened the door and invited them in.  They seemed a little more subdued this time than usual.  

As it turned out, Beth had told Gina about my site –that was fine - and they had both read my stories.  Gina did most of the talking at first, saying what a great writer she thought I was and how much she learned about me that she didn’t know and that she felt like she now knew me so much better.  Then she suddenly got quiet, came over and hugged me.  “You’ve been through so much,” she said.  All this was unfolding as a surprise – a pleasant surprise - but my bigger concern was with Beth.  I wanted to know how she felt about it.  I looked at her inquisitively trying to gauge her take on everything, but she wasn’t saying much, so finally I just asked her straight out how she felt about what I had written about her.  She hesitantly admitted that at first she was a little ticked about it even though she knew it was true.  I nodded and told her I understood why she would feel that way.  But then I went on to say that that was quite a while back and that I thought we were past all that, that we were a lot closer now, and that I had also written about that, too.  She admitted that was true and that Gina had said the same thing.  (Thank you, Gina!) 

After pausing for a moment, Beth continued by saying that she also felt like she knew me even better after reading everything.  She said, “There were things there that…well…I had no idea.”  And then she looked at Brian and unsure whether she should or not, added, “You, too.”  He nodded in acceptance.  Then Gina broke all the hesitations and tensions by chiming in with how she loved the story about Brian and me, how it was so romantic and that she wished someone like that would just come swooping into her life and steal her heart away just like that.  Beth just rolled her eyes and we all laughed.  I guess it takes away some of the romance when you actually know and are related to “the characters”.  After that the atmosphere in the room was a lot lighter and a lot more typical of one of their visits.  When they were getting ready to leave, I asked Beth if she was sure we were OK (meaning her and me).  She didn’t say anything – she just came over and hugged me.  What a relief.

Moving on…it’s been a good year for enjoying and expanding our social circle.  Brian and I have always had lots of friends and both of us as individuals make friends and acquaintances easily.  When we became a couple, we began to have a circle of friends as a couple.  Our couple circle somewhat overlaps our individual circles but as time goes by our couple circle is expanding faster.  And that’s understandable.  As Brian and I choose to spend most of our non-working time together, this tends to grow our couple friendships faster than our individual friendships.  Don’t get me wrong – all of our friends are important to us.  I’m just remarking on something I’ve observed about us. 

Another thing that was new for us this year was that we volunteered to host a home study group associated with our church.  It was for a twelve week study program that met weekly at our place.  We weren’t the leaders except for a couple of times when the leader couldn’t be there.  He let us know well in advance when he couldn’t be there and helped us to be prepared to lead the group on those times.  It was a team effort between Brian and me and the whole thing was a good experience for us, both in terms of what we studied and of making new friends.  As a result, we’ve volunteered to host another one soon. 

One of the things I’ve learned regarding friendships is that a great way to allow yourself to be known better by others is to invite them into your home.  Make them welcome and they will then start to get a deeper sense of who you are and what you’re about.  I think this comes partially from being immersed in your surroundings and partially by observing you in your home, because at least for us, that’s where we are most ourselves – as two individuals and as a couple. 

Friendships, and all relationships, are important to us.  We realize this more and more all the time.  My husband and I are lucky in that we’re completely together on this and we’ve learned a lot from each other about relating to other people - and of course to each other as well.  It’s our desire to be open, accessible, and available to others, and most especially to each other, in order to increase in these areas in the coming year. 

Well, the year ended (and the New Year began) with Julie and friends.  She and another girlfriend of ours had a New Years Eve party.  “Oh, just a little soirée,” as Julie always put it using a sweeping little hand gesture for emphasis as only she can.  I wish I could describe it to you better – it was so funny every time she said it.  I’m laughing even as I write this.  We had a lot of fun. 

We wish you all the very, very best for 2006. 

Peace and friendship,

Brian and Sunny