Merry Christmas!

Last year I got around to wishing my family and friends ‘Merry Christmas’ seven days after New Years. I am obviously doing remarkably better this year. ‘Giving up the shoulds’ was my 2010 New Year’s resolution (actually mine and yours since I recommended that you do the same). I asked that you let me know how you did; but, every last one of you took my request for a report as a “should” and ignored me. I will take that as a victory.

This year has been a mixed bag for our family. The good times have been really good, and the bad times have been rather challenging. There haven’t been many just okay days. As my sister-in-law, Shelley, reminds me, “We are just having life.”

Tim and I finally sold our house in Bold Springs, GA, the one around the corner from the goats. This was quite an accomplishment considering that we negotiated from Tunisia using my BlackBerry. Thanks to the recession, I’d rather not discuss the financial details for fear of, once again, triggering a terribly debilitating tick. In the middle of the hottest summer I can remember, we picked up all our stuff and moved to the lake. The lake house still looks like Beulah’s from Grand Rapids who starred on the last episode of Hoarders. Back in July, I hoped that we’d get settled in and renovate the house. But then…

Tim fell off a ladder, breaking several important body parts. When he got out of the hospital, we moved in with Jeremy, Jennifer, and Anna Lauren. I still don’t understand why perfectly healthy people ride bicycles weighing a few pounds, and handicapped people have wheelchairs that weigh a ton. I tried to be a good sport, but, dang, that thing gave me Stretch Armstrong arms.

Three family pets, Darby, Lou, and Chunk, relocated to heaven. Darby, Bryan’s and Shelley’s dog, decided that ALS wasn’t for her and traded for four doggy legs that all run in the same direction. Lou, BJ’s dog, wanted one last ride in the jeep and gave it up in the back seat in Rachel’s arms. Chunk, Rachel’s and Tyler’s cat and winner of several cat shows, did not want to move to another house. Knowing that when he was upset he could always throw up in BJ’s shoes wasn’t enough to entice him to stay. Our new family mantra is “all dogs and cats go to heaven,” and my grieving dog, Lucy, continues her treatments for depression.

Good times came in Goochland, VA when our son, Evan, married Krissy (who came with a daughter, Keegan) at an outdoor wedding by a lake in the sweltering heat. Actually, they got married twice—once in the steam room under the blazing sun and once in the hospital where Krissy’s dad was recuperating.

The little boys, Bryan and Tyler, started Kindergarten, while Anna Lauren became a reluctant ballerina. My son-in-law got a promotion, so he and Rachel sold their house next to the drug dealer. Ted got a new boss, and Shelley got a van to carry all of Bryan’s stuffed animal “friends” which now number in the hundreds. Jeremy still travels every week and maintains a comedy routine on Facebook while his wife, Jennifer, is learning to breathe.

Traveling brought new experiences and great friends. On Guernsey, John and Margaret Helyer invited Tim and me to their home and, along with John’s sister, Pat, treated us to an evening of amazing storytelling. We keep in touch with David and Joan Belton from Leeds, England by email. At the end of the summer, Julie Wear and I had a great adventure in England. We started the trip barely able to recognize each other; but after Julie received word that her mother had died, we became family.

A Disney cruise in October was one of our very best times. Tim rolled around in his wheelchair with a fake parrot perched on the handle while the rest of us chased down characters and princesses for photo ops. Anna Lauren squealed with delight and loved on every one of them. Bryan and Tyler tried to act cool, but they didn’t fool anyone. Rachel, Shelley, and I tried to keep up and took turns pushing Tim around.

I think this is the abundant life that God envisioned for all of us.