Dear friends and family,
It’s been such a full, fat, crazy,
wonderful, horrible, blessed, cursed month that I’m having trouble thinking
past it about all the rest of the year.
Judging from the state of things in
my house right now, I’m guessing that I probably spent last January cleaning.
And
February, who knows…?
I
know I turned forty in May, so there’s that, um, accomplishment.
What
else?
After
over ten years, Kip switched jobs
this summer and began working for Air Evac as a flight medic—a job that came
with lots of glory paperwork. And a cool helmet that makes him look like
he belongs on a movie set. Overall, he’s happy with the change, although he
misses old friends from his last company as well as some of the challenges of
his last job. He does NOT miss going on calls and being asked to retrieve pork
rinds and hand them to the patient (so called). He does NOT miss 600-pound
patients (is that weightism?). He does NOT miss getting seven calls in a night.
He does miss the spaciousness of the ambulance and has developed a weird
helicopter envy for companies with large helicopters.
As
for Mark, he started a lawn mowing
business this summer, which sounds entrepreneurial and self-startery of him.
But it was actually a move made out of necessity since the school year ended
with Mark breaking our nearly brand new TV. It was what I will simply call a
bad day. But it led to Mark spending the summer and fall mowing lawns and being
responsible. He ended up making not only enough to pay for a new TV, but also
to buy himself a Playstation, some games, and set aside some money for church tithing
and savings. Turning that one very bad day into lots of good things in the end.
In
keeping with the theme of big changes, Mark started high school this year. It
was a surprisingly challenging leap, and he’s managed it amazingly. Like,
seriously, I’m amazed. He has a booty-load of homework—way more than I ever
did, hard classes, choir, climbing, an early morning religion class, and for
the first few months of the school year, he still had lawns to mow. He managed
it all on his own. I never had to pester him about homework or tests, I didn’t
even know what was due or upcoming. He just took care of it and is getting
great grades (I would say perfect, but I don’t want to jinx him), and keeping
his other activities straight as well. I do drive him all over tarnation.
A
fact that might change in a year or so because in addition to starting high
school, Mark furthered his quest to make his mother feel extra old by getting
his learner’s permit (which you can do at age 15 in Indiana). He’s a pretty
decent driver too, and already more gifted at parking than me.
Elizabeth also took a
leap into Junior High this year. She’s in band and choir and every day she
comes home and goes through her list of chores and things to do and does them. Which
might sound unremarkable to you if you are not a parent, but I believe that
most parents will realize the amazingness of that statement: She comes home
from school and does the stuff she is supposed to do. Without me asking. She is
my only child to do so. Everyone else drops their backpacks on the floor and
proceeds to avoid any chores I’ve assigned. Not Elizabeth. In fact, if she
wants to accomplish something she’ll ask me to add it to the chore list because
she knows if she’s supposed to do it, she will. And she does. And it pays off.
She’s
tried to be more physically active this year and has exercised regularly. She’s
becoming a gifted pianist. (Seriously, guys—we’ve finally gotten to that
blessed musical point where the parent hears music from the other room and
thinks, “Oh, that’s nice” instead of “Well, at least she’s practicing.”) She’s
hard-working, a gifted speaker, writer, artist, and a voracious reader.
Savannah turned ten and
loves 4th grade (finally—halleluiah). She’s incredibly artistic,
likes to talk and talk and talk and play and play and play. She and Emma would
make up (and fight about) games all day long if there weren’t chores their
mother keeps pestering them about.
Savannah
loves to laugh and draw. She often worries that she’s not as good at things as
other people since she’s sometimes just perfectly different at things. This is
something that mothers relish and cherish (and are sometimes driven a little
looney by), but that—at age 10 as a middle child can sometimes be confusing. This
year she was chosen to do Battle of the Books at school. It’s been really good
for her. She tells me she loves staying after school to do it. I think she enjoys
the challenge as well as the niche it gives her. She is my little entrepreneur
and recently began her own pet-sitting business (not spurred by any broken electronics
that needed paying for) and loves animals so much and wants to be a vet when
she grows up. I can’t think of anyone who would make a better veterinarian than
Savannah.
Emma is a light.
Plain and simple. Quick to smile, quick to sing, quick to hug, happy in her skin
and her life. She notices when people are sad or stressed and tries to help them.
Recently, she told me, “When Savannah is sad, I feel sad too.” I know
personally that when I am sad she is at my side, hugging me. Many adults spend
a lifetime developing the natural love and empathy that little soul carries
around with her every day. She has oodles of little friends (and occasionally
some little friend drama). She is smart and bright as an angel. She loves
playing, music, cuddling, reading, math, patterns, learning and—well—maybe she
loves everything (excepting vegetables). Which is what I love about her.
I
(Jean) have been busy. Sometimes too
busy, or maybe that’s just December speaking.
In
May I attended my first writers conference in Provo, which was a daunting, but
great experience. I finished and just recently published my second book, Grey Lore (in case you’re dead and didn’t
hear about it yet). I also ghost wrote (and am shopping to publisher) a story
for my friend who spent years using and selling cocaine and crystal meth before
cleaning up and finding her wonderful self. Jake (my co-writer, not brother)
and I have also been working on a new sci-fi series set in the White House. (Is this writing update interesting to people or boring as heck? Sorry if your eyes just glazed over.)
In
addition to writing, I’m the Primary President at our church (which means I’m
in charge-ish of the kids ages 2-12). I’m also the president of the Midwest
Writers Guild in Indiana. I still teach piano and have begun teaching English
to Chinese children online. It’s been a really full, rewarding year with some
occasional stumbles that make me think, “What am I even doing?” Truly, I don’t
know. But I sure love my kids and I sure love my husband. And I know they love
me back. It is, as so many locals say in the Midwest, a blessed life. That I
often take for granted. That I occasionally whine about if I hit an imperfect
patch. That I sometimes trip over. Even so, I’m so often blessed (and sometimes
forced) to see the hand of God in my life, and I am deeply grateful for His
love and His gospel that have led me to so many happy places and wonderful
people. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
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