Christmas, 2000
Well, it’s time once again for that annual rite of Christmas: the Holiday Letter. As always, you get the final vote on whether you like them or not (unless you live in Florida, in which case three judges, two witnesses and a partridge in a pear tree will decide what your ‘intent’ is!) For the rest of you, sit down and spend a minute of your hectic day catching up with the Grasmeder’s.
Jim is a High School student! I don’t know about you, but this mom isn’t ready to have a kid in High School. (But no one asked my opinion!) He is doing quite well, particularly since he no longer has a class in spelling. When the 8th graders graduated, each was given a ‘superlative’ such as Best Smile, Most likely to be a Doctor, Most likely to need a lawyer, etc.. Jim’s was Bestest Speeler. If he were writing this, you might not be able to tell in which language it was written.
In addition to being old enough to be in High School, he is also old enough to drive. If any of your travel plans involve a trip through the northern Virginia area, let me know and I’ll tell you if I think he is on the road so that you can plan your trip accordingly. If you think you might be come this way during Christmas, you should be safe. He has ‘misplaced’ his glasses (and retainer) and won’t be driving until he finds them. Honestly, I don’t know how he can lose track of his glasses, yet he knows the social schedule (and phone number) of every girl in the freshman class.
Billy is now in 7th grade. His biggest challenge is the Science Fair. He is doing an experiment on how the presentation of food affects its apparent taste. I told him any mother knows the outcome of that experiment; we do it every night at dinner. Who knows, at the end of this maybe he’ll be less critical about my cooking.
Bill is still our musician. During the past twelve months he has played the trumpet, piano, guitar and baritone.
In fact, we just returned from the school’s Christmas Concert where he played the baritone. He seems to be adjusting to middle school. When I ask him what his favorite class is, he responds: “the 7th & 8th grade dances.”
Allison is in the middle of first grade. She is just learning to read. We are anxiously awaiting the departure of her two front teeth. I fear a repeat of the Tooth Fairy and Santa vying for who gets in our house first on Christmas Eve. Having done it last year, let me just say that it is a lot for a Mom to keep up with all in one night! She is still taking gymnastics and has just started basketball. Jon has high hopes for b-ball since she is the tallest girl in her class. He keeps saying you can’t teach height. We shall see. Lately he has been teaching her ‘trash-talk’ so that she will really know how the game is played.
As for me, I still have no problem keeping myself occupied. I am working part time for the government. My full-time job is still taxi-cab-for-kids. Between the two, I think I spend about twelve hours a day in my van. In my ‘spare-time’, I am a brownie Girl Scout leader. So, f you need cookies, just give me a shout and I’ll hook you up.
Nanny is well and has recovered nicely from last year’s broken collarbone. She is doing her best trying to keep in front of the mountains of dirty clothes that this family produces. As if normal day-to-day life didn’t generate enough laundry, all of the boys (Jon included) are playing hockey at least twice a week. My poor mom must do three loads of laundry a day. So much for taking it easy in her ‘retirement years.’
Well, I guess it really is going to be winter this year. As I put the final sentences down on paper, Mother Nature is decorating our driveway with about six inches of Christmas decorations. It truly is gorgeous! I hope your holiday is as fun and beautiful as a half foot of fresh snow!
Merry Christmas!!
Maria