1997

Greetings dear friends,

We are happy to report that all is quite exceptionally well with the entire family. Emily walks and talks like a veritable Jabberwocky (though we haven’t taken the vorpal sword to her yet) and Alex is tremendously jealous of any of the scant attention we lavish upon her. Much of our time as a family unit is spent resolving squabbles and doling out sympathy for oh-so-hurt feelings, but we are assured that this is just normal. And so it goes. The memorable events of this past year are as follows:

Last winter, an ice storm knocked out power for two days, and we took shelter in a motel. The ice took out dozens of large limbs from numerous trees, and felled one tree across the driveway. I subsequently stuck a chainsaw in the trunk trying to cut us free, and then angered the neighbor when I drove across his lawn to gain access to his driveway.

Mickey became Catholic at Easter. Coincidentally, it was also the anniversary of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Go figure. The following week was spent in the Tampa-St. Pete area visiting Mickey’s brother’s family and Mickey’s snowbird parents. Alex only puked once during the flight. We stayed along the crowded Clearwater Beach, and much fun was had by all. Spent a lot of time shuttling between the various households, but, what the hell: you’ve got to do something to kill time..

Mickey changed jobs (again!) in May. Lo and behold, he ended up on contract (indentured servitude more like!) working with his wife at the State of Michigan. You want to test the strength of your marriage, spend eighteen waking hours a day with your spouse. Then talk to us. (So far, so good.) Mary is still working part-time.

We also visited Mary’s family in Wisconsin in July. Ate cheese, saw cows, yada yada yada. But we were favored with many return visits: Bruce, Kay, and kids; Barb and John; Al, Linda, and daughters. Mary’s mother made the journey twice! You couldn’t swing a cat by its tail around here without hitting a Bergmann of some sort.

Then we started looking at new houses. Nothing helps focus the eye on your own home’s blemishes like visiting homes for sale. But then we saw the blemishes in those homes as well, once we visited some new builds. So, we are in the process of building a new home just two miles from here, in a new subdivision carved out of the woods, nestled on the campus of the elementary, middle, and junior high schools. It should be ready by June. Anybody want to buy a slightly blemished but much loved house?

Alex is now durn near potty trained, though sometimes dropping his pants to pee is merely an excuse to run naked through the house. Both kids enjoy their 3 days a week in daycare. Emily is now in the toddler room and Alex has been promoted to pre-school. Emily loves dancing and Alex loves dinosaurs; especially blue ones. Meanwhile,

Mary and Mickey closed the books on five years of marriage. Two years until one of us gets an itch! So when you put first things first, and let the bank balance your checking account, you can be thankful that the cats still use the litter box after all these years.

We’re looking forward to (yet) another trip to Wisconsin over the holidays. We pray that all who read this enjoy the holidays. Please send a copy of this letter to five friends and within three weeks…whoops, wrong letter!

May God bless us all.