This years XMAS letter

Dear Friends and Family,
The Holidays are upon us it is time for my annual Days of Our Lives Holiday Letter.
January: Kianna turns 7. Heavy rains brought flooding in our lower-than-street-level yard. One week raw sewage and the next knee-deep rain water with no power and a broken sump pump.
February: Kianna attends a birthday party at Build-a-Bear, where you chose an animal, stuff it & dress it. Most girls left with a teddy bear in pastel. Mine left toting a penguin in a cop uniform.
March: We stay at a beach house at Pajaro Dunes over spring break. During an afternoon at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk we capture a photo of the FRIED TWINKIES cart. I am left pondering if the shelf life of a Twinkie is increased or decreased when it is fried. Alex is the only one in sight enjoying a March swim in the Pacific. This year I get the opportunity to do readings from the book I wrote a story for in Seattle, Marin & Redwood City. My voice is even captured on NPR.
April: We go on a four day trip to Disneyland with Kurt’s Dad and brother. At the airport the announcement, "All passengers please be in control of your belongings at all times." gives me pause. Are they talking about me and my kids? We return home to find the dogs are strikingly heavier, waddling even, compared to when we left. Seemingly, they were good at asking to be fed and my Mom was not so good at remembering they had already been fed.
May: After Kurt leaves for work Java replaces him with her head on the pillow and her body under the covers. I regularly awake and find myself spooning with the dog.
June: The first day of summer in Tahoe and Alex jumps off the stair landing and breaks a bone in his foot. My first thought is, “If you can’t go to sports camp during the day, how am I going to work?” And secondly, “Oh, are you okay?”
July: I take on a second term as the President of Special education PTA of Redwood City (SEPTAR). We take kids to see the musical Hair Spray. Alex works to expand his 9 year-old vocabulary and asks if I know the “the ‘F’ Word”. I respond, “Yes, it’s ‘Fart’.”
August: While driving, I blindly paw through the outer pocket of my purse in search of my Blue Tooth. I then desperately try to wrestle it in and around my ear. Not too quickly, I discover that "blue" is the only thing in common between a blue Lego and a Blue Tooth. Kurt enjoys a fishing trip in British Columbia and a hunting trip to Canada (September).
September: While playing halfback in AYSO soccer, Alex scores 3 goals for his team. Kurt and I celebrate 12 years of marriage. I open my clinic for Sage Therapy. It is located in Redwood City and is just 3 miles from our home. It is the space I have always dreamed of.
October: Java, our lab, and my Mom enjoy sitting in their respective dining room chairs at the table. Mom works crossword puzzles and Java looks out the window. They share loving pets and engage in frequent games of fetch. Sierra is 12 and now pretty much retired from hunting. She has mastered the art of barking to guard the house, while never leaving the couch.
November: Alex turns 10 years old. And I turn, uh, 45. Java has severe pancreatitis and a 2 ½ day stay at the vet. She is the pet who steps up this year to allow us to make our annual contribution to the put-your-vet’s-child-through-college fund.
December: Kurt continues managing and working as a Physical Therapist at Adient Physical Therapy. Both of us are occasionally accompanied to work by Sierra. A broken pipe under the slab in the garage enables us to just sneak in our annual donation to put-your-plumbers’-child-through-college fund. My Dad and his wife, Altha, still live in Rancho Bernardo & were un-harmed by the fire there earlier in the year. Kurt’s Dad & brother are still nearby in Alamo, CA.
On a more serious note, we are generally a healthy group. My Mom’s Alzheimer’s has progressed and Alex can be challenging. We work to maintain our sense of humor and we are blessed to have some friends we know we can call upon.
Be in touch