Happy 29th Birthday, Jeremy Vukasinovic - November 2, 2013

Jeremy is my "baby" - all 6'4" of him.  He weighed in at birth at over 8 and a 
half pounds and I was able to deliver him without too much trouble, believe it
or not!!  He remained bald headed for a full year but many times, especially
in later years, he has sported the most wonderful curls, one batch going to
Locks for Love.

I can't seem to find any of his baby pictures here with me in India so I'll show
you some of his more recent ones.

This has always been a favorite of mine...with Alex, two years older,

at the Golden Gate Bridge

Jeremy has never lived very far from home.  He spent three years at the College

of San Mateo where he got an associates degree in Liberal Arts and his A.S.

in Fire Technology.  He always wanted to be a firefighter.  He went from San 

Mateo to Cal Poly, 250 miles away, in the beautiful area of San Luis Obispo.

There he got a degree in kinesiology.  From there he became employed in the

semiconductor field and, now, for the past two years, he's been at Genentech in

South San Francisco.  I'm afraid that job may take him away since he is being

considered for a new position outside the Bay area.  When I expressed my 

dismay at "losing" him, he laughed and reminded me that I am often seven

thousand miles away in India.

Here, on a cruise, big ( ?  brother, Shawn, is trying to teach him smooth moves

With his beer at the Locks for Lover hairdresser

I think this may well have been Jeremy's shortest haircut

ever - at brother, Alex's wedding...Shawn, big brother, sadly,

was in Germany with the Air Force and had to miss the occassion

Of all my sons, Shawn and Jeremy seem to have developed my love of 

travel.  Much of Shawn's has been compliments of Uncle Sam, via the Air

Force, but Jeremy has already seen much of Europe and Argentina ( as a 

college employee of a pharmaceutical company ) and he speaks Spanish

better than many natives.  He has a real sense of adventure and he likes

good food and wine.  He, unlike me, is very much health oriented and has

worked hard to help me develop healthier habits.

This is Jeremy and his Cal Poly buddy, Daniel...I'm 

posting this for Eileen Dryer who always puts up 

firefighter pics...I think he would have looked good

in a calendar

Jeremy is quite an achiever and he likes to remind his brothers - both of 

whom stretched college years out to over a decade - that he managed to 

graduate by the age of 24 ( making the Dean's list, no less ).  He's done

very well in the corporate world though he still would like to be a firefighter!

Mom with the three best sons any mother could have - 

Shawn ( the shorty ), Alex, and Jeremy

Jeremy with his other mother, Elmira Lopez - she came to us when

Alex and Jeremy were infants - I wanted someone who was monolingual 

Spanish so they grew up fluent in another language - and she was family to us -

and a lifesaver to me with my crazy call schedule - and what a terrific cook!!!

The all night Harper Ann vigil ( post epidural )

Mommy and baby are doing fine!!!  Proud papa and uncles

UNCLE Jeremy meets niece, Harper Ann Vukasinovic - I think it 

was love at first sight

Already, Jeremy has his niece checking out San Francisco's bridges

There is no question, I owe this young man a lot.  First of all, he almost single handedly 

moved me from my four bedroom home when I decided to come to India.  He made 

about a hundred trips to the dump, broke down furniture, loaded things into storage, and

kept me focused so I finally got to India, after changing two airline reservations.  He's

been the one to check my mail, send my medications when it's refill time, visit me in

the hospital and help me when I need it.  He's drawn the short end of the straw, poor kid,

with Alex two hours away in West Sacramento and Shawn playing Air Force.  I've

had an occasional lecture ( much needed ) from him, as well.

All this he did, after having undergone shoulder surgery at the end of his Division 1 Cal

Poly decathlon career!!!  In fact, his research into a surgeon, saved me having to do it 

and Dr. Belzer was the one who did my shoulder replacement!  Sadly, he just had

shoulder surgery again a few months ago.

So, baby boy, though I am often seven thousand miles from home, it will be very

sad for me, WHEN I AM HOME, not to have you there.  It's not that I need you to

haul things for me and all that, I love being able to enjoy a bottle of wine with you and

to have dinner from time to time.  I am well aware I'm getting on in years so, even

our brief rendevous are really precious to me.  I am prouder of you than you will

ever know and, though, I probably don't say it often enough, I am eternally grateful

for your kindnesses to me.  You are a fine young man and the lady that finally gets

to share your life, on a permanent basis, will be one lucky girl.

On this, your 29th birthday, I am so glad that you were born...and that my labor 

wasn't so bad at all.  I love you so much.

Mom