Last year, I was very busy. I know that is not a good excuse but I did not send out a Christmas letter. 2007 was the year of Dave's and my 15th wedding anniversary. Early in the year, Dave gave me permission to schedule a cruise to celebrate the event. So I scheduled a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines for Dave, Anne and me to take over our anniversary in November. (It was a lovely cruise and I was delighted to be in Guatemala for my 15th wedding anniversary!)
In July, several months before the cruise, after failing at just about every diet known to man, I asked Dave if it would be alright for me to spend some money on a diet center. I really wanted to lose some weight so I could feel beautiful for our anniversary cruise. Dave agreed and supported me by adhering to my diet while he was at home. (He even helped me out by going through our pantry and tossing all the food I could not eat!)
By the time of our November cruise, I had lost 40 pounds! Dave was also fit and trim. His blood pressure was down to "normal" from "pre-hypertension" and he looked really good -- for a 38 year-old dad.
This year has been an eventful one for us, too. I have been off my weight-loss diet for quite some time, and have managed to keep most of the weight off. (It is very nice to be able to turn heads again! LOL) Dave, too, has managed to keep off his weight.
In the Spring, Dave's new car started having problems. (We had traded in my inherited car from my great uncle on a newer used vehicle for Dave. Then I paid off the new car with the savings we were collecting to build our home in Tennessee. That cut a big chunk out of our savings, but it is good to not have to pay an auto loan.) He took his new car to a couple of different mechanics before the problem was diagnosed and he could fix it. (Luckily, Dave is a certified auto mechanic!) But then his back went out and poor Dave was in terrible discomfort. He took time off work on several occasions to visit a chiropracter. (Fortunately, Dave's job at Kodiak Assembly was a salaried position, so he did not lose wages to visit the doctor.)
In addition, with all the stress Dave has been under, he has developed full-blown hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Then, in October, Dave was laid off from his engineering job at Kodiak Assembly Solutions in Austin, Texas. The economy and the job market being the way that they are in our current recession, Dave decided it was time to eliminate the debt and liability of owning a house. (He is in Texas, right now, working to fix up our family home and sell it.)
I made up my mind that it would be much easier to get through this difficult time with the support of our family around us. So, at the end of October, Mom and Dad came down from Wisconsin to get Anne and me and most of the household stuff and drive us up to live with them until we are able to get on our feet. It was a long drive from Texas to Wisconsin. My car was in no shape to make the trip, so I sold it to CarMax in Texas and rented a small SUV to make the drive. (I think the dogs, Dusty and Snickers, are glad I did that. The trip was much easier for them to ride in the back of an SUV than it would have been in the back of my little Saturn!) And when we finally arrived to Mom and Dad's house, my sister, Cat, was there with a lasagna dinner almost ready to eat. Within not too long after our arrival, my brother, Eric, and his wife and son came over to help us unload the truck. I am really glad they came to help because it was cold outside when we got here. And there were snow flurries as the truck was unloaded. (Brrr.)
Everyone is so supportive and happy that we are again "home" in Wisconsin. And, even though we miss our friends and our old neighborhood, Anne and I are pretty comfortable with our family all around us. We look forward to a wonderful holiday this year and are very excited to participate in the family gift exchange.
Dave and I keep in touch primarily by email, these days. He is now supervising the fix-up of our home in Leander in order to sell it, while he searches for a job. (He is laying the new bathroom tile by himself.) But the poor guy seems very lonely. Whenever he emails Anne, he tells her how much he misses her. And every time he emails me, he relays how unhappy he is. I am lonely for Dave, too, and feel terrible that he cannot be with us right now, but I remind myself every day that
God works in mysterious ways and in His own time. It is not for me to second-guess the all-knowing. And, actually, I think this experience might be a good thing. There is nothing like absence to make the heart appreciate its missing pieces.
I have to admit, though, it is kind of nice for me to get away from the responsibilities of "homemaking" for a while. I no longer spend my days cooking, worrying about the budget and cleaning up after people. For the first time in a long time, I went shopping and bought something color-coordinated for myself. (I even received a couple of compliments on it! LOL) I also went into my parents' back yard and started building an igloo -- which is now melted from the recent warm (39 degree) weather we had for a day or two. I have been to the library recently, too! And I still have time to talk to my friends almost every night on the phone. :-)
Anne is very lonely for her friends and her academics in Leander, Texas. But she has been doing her best to make lemons into lemonade, here in Wisconsin.
Anne really enjoyed the teen book club she belonged to in Texas. So one of our first stops, when we got here, was the public library. After only a little searching, we found another teen book club for Anne to join.
In school, Anne joined the Spanish club. She is now working very hard to pay for her trip to Spain this coming summer.
A promising trombonist, Anne marched in Milwaukee's Holiday Parade (broadcast on television!) as part of the high school Band this year. In a few weeks, she intends to also try out the school Jazz Band. (This should make Uncle Steve, a jazz guitarist, quite proud!)
Snickers, our two year-old rat terrier, has a favorite hobby, too! My parents' house has been partitioned by child safety gates to protect their cat from Snickers. And his favorite hobby is to keep a very watchful eye on that strange creature. Snickers also enjoys playing "tug."
Dusty, age 12, is a good old dog. His favorite activity, these days, is sleeping. He does NOT like this new thing called "snow" and spends all the time he can inside the house to keep away from it.
Please enjoy our photos, found on our photo page. And have a safe (and warm!) 2008 holiday season.