Holiday Card 2014

Dec. 29, 2014

Get a group of parents together and the conversation often turns to the “Trouble with Teenagers.’ One will complain about the eye rolling and the attitude. Another will complain about the late nights and the dubious friends. Someone else will sigh about the teenager’s choice of clothing. This conversation often will devolve into a contest about which kid smells the worst after athletic practice. (Jonah wins.)

But those complaints are really cheap laughs at a dinner party. Truly, we’re all in awe while witnessing the transformation of a child into an adult almost over night. How can the human skeleton expand so rapidly? When did he find an interest in chemistry? When did he learn to remain so calm, when I’m freaking out about something or another? Call it a miracle of life or God’s hand at work, but the process is certainly humbling.

As Jonah morphed into a nearly 5-foot 10-inch lanky man-boy, Ian bloomed into chatterbox who loves music and robots. One year brought so many changes in the boys, even while the rest of life remained constant — no new jobs or homes or other ulcer-inducing upheavals.

We’re nestled into a charming, if somewhat dated, 50’s split level in XXXX, NJ. After three years, we’re all feeling more comfortable in the community and have found suitably quirky friends. Every morning, Steve drives the green 1997 Toyota to the train station to get to work at the shadow of the Freedom Tower. After I pack the kids off to school, I procrastinate before finally getting some writing done.

After 3:00, things get a little nutty with homework and activities. I’m on chauffeur-duty picking up Jonah from track practice and driving Ian to drum and piano lessons. It’s a chaotic blur until bedtime.

This week, we’re all enjoying a long period of lazy time. Without homework or music lessons, with Steve skipping home early from work, we’re spending lots of time with all four grandparents. The video games have been going non-stop. We’re catching up on movie rentals. We’ve almost finished all of Grandma-O’s chocolate cookies.

Change, chaos, and calm are the themes of 2014. I like those themes. But life is so good right now, I mostly hope for constancy in 2015.

Lots of love, Laura, Steve, Jonah, and Ian

 

 

And as a bonus… I don’t think I posted the previous year’s holiday card.

 

January 2014

Yesterday, Steve dragged out the Christmas tree to the side of the road leaving a trail of dried needles across the living room rug. We boxed up the ornaments and ate the last of the chocolate Santas. It is strange to send out our holiday cards in the midst of de-holidaying our home.

I choose to think of this card not as the last and latest of all the holiday cards. Instead, this card is the absolutely first Martin Luther King card of the season. WE ARE NUMBER ONE! WE ARE NUMBER ONE!

It’s all about framing, isn’t it? The key to happiness is choosing to focus on the good things in life and overlooking the errors, mistakes, and late holiday cards.

So, in this card, I will focus on the five inches that Jonah grew this year, and not the powerful aroma of Axe Body Spray masking the smell of a 14-year old boy after a cross-country workout. I’ll brag about Ian’s wonderful proficiency on the computer and overlook his questionable and unauthorized purchases on iTunes with big brother’s gift card. Steve’s new job for the XXX provides the stability and positive work environment that he’s wanted for a long while. And, well, there’s no downside to that. I helped the boys who both started new schools, while Steve concentrated on his new job. Sure, I didn’t get a lot of writing done, while managing all these changes, but at least I had a good excuse.

As we gear up for 2014, I’m sure that there will be the equivalent of tardy holiday cards to come, but right now, I can only see the promise of kids thriving in their schools. I see more track medals for Jonah and less flashy, but just as important, victories for Ian. I can see a completion of a half finished manuscript or maybe another solid excuse for the lack of progress. I see Steve carving out more time for his history books and music. I see a new roof on the house and the eviction of the varmints in the attic. I see time on a beach with loved ones and a silly novel.

And I see many warm evenings with large meals and good friends.

 

Lots of love, Laura, Steve, Jonah, and Ian