Christmas, 2001
Good gosh, is it that time again?!? Wasn’t it only yesterday that I was typing last year’s letter. (If you call this one-finger thing that I do, typing.) At least this year the good people at Hallmark have added a few extra days to the holiday season. It felt like I started hearing Christmas carols in early November. Ordinarily, that would bother me; but, after the events of September, a slightly longer holiday season seems like a good idea.
I am sure you remember where you were and what you were doing on 9/11. Jon was in one of those big government buildings (read: targets) and I was in Rosslyn not far from the Pentagon when the terrorists struck. Other than being evacuated from our building and not being able to get home (or use a phone) that day, we were pretty much safe. We were very fortunate that no one we know was hurt on that tragic day. I hope that you can say the same
The first half of 2001 has fairly uneventful. Things picked up in June. Somehow, Jon talked his parents into taking over my carpool duties (I’m not sure they will ever trust him again). Then we went to San Francisco to celebrate our twenty-second wedding anniversary. Very romantic: cable cars, flowers, hotel rooms, and Giardelli chocolate; unbelievably nice. Actually, what is more unbelievable is that it has been 22 years! Worse yet, Jim is now 16! (The same age as Jon, when we started dating!) High school, driver’s license, dating, sports, … What’s a mom to do?
However, in spite of all the distractions associated with high school, he managed to finish his Eagle Scout project. (With some prompting from his father!) Both he and Bill are still playing hockey and active in Scouts. The three boys went to Toronto this summer to play hockey and are planning a trip to the Philmont Scout reservation in New Mexico next summer. They will spend two weeks hiking in the wild. I hope to spend two weeks sitting by the pool. (Who am I kidding? I’ll spend those two weeks trying to paint the bedrooms while they are empty!)
Bill is an eighth grader and looking forward to going to Bishop O’Connell High School next year. For the first time in forever, perhaps both of them will be on the same hockey team and I can cut in half the number of times per week that I spend freezing my parts off in an ice rink. Bill has done a nice job keeping his grades up and was selected as the Student of the Year by the teachers at St. Leos. It was a very pleasant surprise for all of us.
My little baby Allison is hardly little any more; although she is still shorter than me. (Hopefully, I’ll be able to say that again this time next year!) She is a pretty typical second grader, working hard on math facts and vocabulary when she would rather be playing basketball or T-ball. If only Nintendo would produce a Pokemon Crystal “Math” version for Gameboy, then both of us would be loving life!
My mother and her sister Winnie are still hanging in there. With the three boys playing hockey and Allison playing basketball, Nanny is doing more wash each month than she did in a year raising me. She ought to be resting in her golden years, but she really is a great help around the house.
I guess I can’t close without mentioning the dog. In case you have not met Lucy Furr, she is a pound puppy that we rescued after she spent the better part of a year living in the wild. It has taken some time, but I think she has finally trained us. We no longer yell at her when she jumps on the furniture to bark out the window. So I guess you might call that progress.
I hope that your year has been prosperous (or at least fun!) However it was, drop me an email at maria@gras.org so that we can catch up. Happy Holidays!