Merry Christmas from us!
We’re grateful that we manage to keep in touch with so many of you over the year in various ways, although lately it feels like some things slip through the cracks. We’re hoping this finds you all well and happy, and wondering about the Sigars (it goes faster if you’re interested).
We’re a little more far-flung now. Beth (and Cameron, and Bix, now 11) moved a year ago from San Antonio to Branford, Connecticut (or around there; New Haven area, where they have all the best pizzas). Julie Kae had a wonderful, relaxing visit last summer there, sitting on the front porch, right on the water (Long Island Sound), thinking that maybe Seattle has some competition. They seem very happy and we’re happy for them. Would it kill them to come for a visit? We know, we know, they’re busy. Don’t mind us.
Cam, Beth and Bix at their new home in Connecticut
We do have John, which lately has made us think our decision to have a second child was probably a good idea. He’s become a huge help to his aging parents; for one thing, he can reach shelves we didn’t know were there. He also handles most of the lawn work now, and hovers over us if we try to do something dangerous, like walk outside to get the mail. He also mans the grill and does a lot of our cooking. Seriously, if it’s not too late to have another kid you should consider it.
The homestead, 1988 versus 2024. Staying put has its rewards.
One of the reasons John has been so gung-ho to take on the yard is that we sort of have a new one. A year ago we began some repair/reconstruction/remodel projects, and it must have left an impression because we did it again this fall. We started last year with a new roof and rebuilding of two decks, then had some major tree trimming and yard deconstruction. This September we had some new front steps and sidewalk, along with new retaining walls, whew!
After 36 years, though, we find ourselves remarkably sentimental about this old house (half of which was built around the time Chuck was born), and it’s been a pleasure to upgrade the old girl. We like it right here and we have no plans to like it elsewhere.
Julie Kae is still teaching at SPU and serving St. Andrew Presbyterian as an associate pastor, as well as occasionally coaching a private student, and her new hobby of knowing everything going on in the world at every single minute (you only think this is a joke). She has no plans to retire at this point, and she’s considering picking up a weekend shift at Burger King if she gets bored.
Grandmother and grandson
She remains under the care of a bunch of specialists, and she ages like the rest of us and has some problems, but in general she has moved past that awful year of surgeries and diagnoses.
She’s developed a passion for women’s basketball – like a lot of people, she started watching Caitlin Clark in the Women’s NCAA tournament, but she just kept going into the WNBA and the Olympics and now she’s back at the college game. Some days she manages to watch three games, and those are the best days.
So, Chuck. Hmm. Either you know or somehow you’ve missed some news, so quickly: Chuck caught Covid in September 2022 and never got better. After a couple of months he was diagnosed with long Covid, and it was assumed it might be a while before he recovered completely. He slept constantly, it seemed, for the first few months, and then the fun really began and he slept more.
A year ago, he had a period during which he really felt completely recovered. This turned out to be either a brief remission or just another weird phase of this very weird condition. He’s into his third year now and while there’s not a lot of expectation of a complete recovery, none of us have lost hope yet. There are also studies currently underway that we’re all hoping will yield at least an idea about therapies.
Chuck isn’t doing anything here but he really likes this photo so we humor him