I reached my Life Master on Dec. 22, 2022, in the online Winter Wonderland. I needed .21 after the tournament in Lancaster! I got most of my points over the 10 years since I joined with the same 3 partners who also became Life Masters this year – Jean Pryzbylkowski, Pat Latshaw and Sharon Sherban.

The day I achieved Life Master was December 23, the day before I had serious back surgery. I played  bridge all that week as a way to forget the pain.  I went into surgery feeling very happy and reaching Life Master has gotten me through weeks of recovery pain.

My experience with the local clubs in Lancaster, with John and Debi Klinger, and York with Edward Scanlon, is what made it possible.  They were always there to offer lessons and answer questions. They taught me a lot about bridge and about partners and opponents and how to be a good person for both. They worked so hard to get us all through the pandemic and being patient with me when I was too fearful to return to face to face play. (My husband and I have health issues that cause us to be more fearful.)

I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy traveling  to some tournaments where I can enjoy time away with my partners. Bridge can make us humble as we make the most silly mistakes and make us feel great when we make a difficult contract. It is a challenging and fun past time and one I hope to be able to do for many more years.