I'm lousy about keeping in touch with friends and family. I love hearing news about the daily lives of people I care about, so I try to encourage that by sending out an annual holiday letter. It usually goes out the day before or the day after Christmas but it's the THOUGHT that counts, darn it!
So here's my holiday letter for you. Here's hoping your 2008 had more highs than lows and you continue to enjoy great highs in 2009.
- Karen
“Holy holidays, Batman – it’s Christmas time again! How can that be?”
“Well, Robin, either the Joker figured out a way to send us into the future, or we were too busy fighting crime to notice the time flying by.”
Sigh… we don’t have any crimefighting excuses or villains to blame for last-minute holiday greetings. Life just gets busy, even for us ordinary folks. Our kids would LOVE it if they caught their ‘rents kicking some bad guy tail once in awhile, though. They’d even take a tiny bat cave. (Sorry kids, but we have to do a mind wipe each time you find it…)
Wow, this letter is off to a juvenile start. Blame it on having an 8-year-old boy in the house who’s fixated on superheroes and other typical boy things. Freddy is in third grade and his big change this year was getting “blueberry Pez” glasses. The new specs must help in the ballpark, because his dad coached Freddy’s baseball team to a first place finish this summer.
Freddy also plays sweet music with the violin. The cat likes to sing along whenever he plays, so we’ve been treated to some interesting concerts. Freddy loves playing games and has a devious young mind. So if he ever challenges you to a game of Stratego or Battleship… watch out!
Elizabeth, age 12, is in 7th grade now. Her sport is softball and her team got fourth place this year. (She got the Most Improved Player award.) Lizzy’s instrument is the saxophone, and she’s working on the Pachebel Canon with her brother. Dad backs them up on the guitar, and it’s an unusual-sounding trio. Sometimes the cat joins in and it’s a quartet.
Elizabeth is a typical middle-school kid. Boys are stupid and parents are clueless about life in the 21st century. “Every child NEEDS a cell phone, mom!” (Nope, not buying it.)
Alta is a high school Sophomore this year. She’s taking Japanese and wants to go there someday. I jokingly asked her where the Sea of Japan was located, and discovered she knows a LOT about that nation’s geography. Coming from a kid who can’t find her way to the grocery store unless I drive her… it’s a little freaky. If she’s this single-minded in other pursuits, watch out for this girl.
Alta has started working a few hours a week for her dad’s business, and she teaches Sunday School with her mom. Despite her busy schedule she’s always willing to spend time at home with family…as long as our firewall doesn’t block her favorite websites.
We lost two important people in our lives this year. Fred’s dad passed away shortly before Thanksgiving. It was a sad occasion, but in true Italian style, the Alonzi clan celebrated a vibrant life and the release of a joyful spirit. My Uncle Glen passed away a few weeks earlier. Both men shared with us a love of games, music & storytelling, and a thirst for knowledge. This first Christmas without them will be hard. However, we’ll honor their memory this holiday season by celebrating the traditions we shared with them… and lives filled with warmth, laughter, stories, and love.
Peace and best wishes for the new year!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Another eulogy
My father-in-law passed away a couple days before Thanksgiving. It must be a seasonal thing, since my mom passed away 17 years ago a few days AFTER Thanksgiving.
Grampy was 89, the same age as my Uncle Glen who died last month. The coincidences may not impress you, but those of us in mourning seem to latch onto odd facts like this. I suppose it's an instinctive search for hidden meanings and purposes in death. (I'm not finding any, so don't read on if you're looking for those types of answers.)
This is NOT a time of sorrow for our family. Grampy had become a shell of the outgoing, vibrant man he once was and we've been mourning that loss for three years. Finally the body has let loose free his joyful spirit, and the entire family is celebrating.
The memorial service was lovely. Fred's dad was a twin and all of Fred's cousins flew in for the funeral. One cousin explained to the priest that since their fathers were genetically identical, they're technically half-siblings, not mere cousins. They had a private Italian meal at a local restaurant last night and took turns telling stories about their twin fathers and all the pranks, shenanigans, and heroic deeds they'd performed over the years.
The twins never locked the company safe. Instead there was a faded note on the cover that read, "We're out of cash so I'll stop at the bank on the way in tomorrow." That note was their anti-theft strategy for 20 years.
The stories about people confusing the twins were hilarious. Uncle Sam's future daughter-in-law once saw her boyfriend's supposed father in downtown Chicago, with a woman who was NOT her boyfriend's mother.
One of Uncle Sam's neighbors refused to talk to him for years. Evidently this neighbor had been elected to represent their block at a community meeting. Not only did Uncle Sam have the gall to also show up at said meeting, but he sat with the opposition and ignored him completely. Sam had no idea why the neighbor was so mad at him until years later. The neighbor saw the twins together, realized immediately what had happened, and apologized profusely.
The best story was when Sam was hospitalized and Fred came to visit. As he left, a nurse at the station tried to convince him to stay. He joked, "I can't... the food here is TERRIBLE." When he got off the elevator in the lobby, two big orderlies were waiting for him. He had to accompany them back to his brother's room before they believed his story and let him leave the hospital.
There were also stories about the famous "twin radar". The twins both got their first cash card at about the same time, and they both got to pick their own 4-digit PIN number. When comparing cards later, they realized they'd both picked the same number, 5683, because it spelled LOVE on the phone pad.
What a fun night of stories! It really was a great tribute to two men. May all the deaths in your life carry a similar amount of laughter and celebration to lessen the grief.
Grampy was 89, the same age as my Uncle Glen who died last month. The coincidences may not impress you, but those of us in mourning seem to latch onto odd facts like this. I suppose it's an instinctive search for hidden meanings and purposes in death. (I'm not finding any, so don't read on if you're looking for those types of answers.)
This is NOT a time of sorrow for our family. Grampy had become a shell of the outgoing, vibrant man he once was and we've been mourning that loss for three years. Finally the body has let loose free his joyful spirit, and the entire family is celebrating.
The memorial service was lovely. Fred's dad was a twin and all of Fred's cousins flew in for the funeral. One cousin explained to the priest that since their fathers were genetically identical, they're technically half-siblings, not mere cousins. They had a private Italian meal at a local restaurant last night and took turns telling stories about their twin fathers and all the pranks, shenanigans, and heroic deeds they'd performed over the years.
The twins never locked the company safe. Instead there was a faded note on the cover that read, "We're out of cash so I'll stop at the bank on the way in tomorrow." That note was their anti-theft strategy for 20 years.
The stories about people confusing the twins were hilarious. Uncle Sam's future daughter-in-law once saw her boyfriend's supposed father in downtown Chicago, with a woman who was NOT her boyfriend's mother.
One of Uncle Sam's neighbors refused to talk to him for years. Evidently this neighbor had been elected to represent their block at a community meeting. Not only did Uncle Sam have the gall to also show up at said meeting, but he sat with the opposition and ignored him completely. Sam had no idea why the neighbor was so mad at him until years later. The neighbor saw the twins together, realized immediately what had happened, and apologized profusely.
The best story was when Sam was hospitalized and Fred came to visit. As he left, a nurse at the station tried to convince him to stay. He joked, "I can't... the food here is TERRIBLE." When he got off the elevator in the lobby, two big orderlies were waiting for him. He had to accompany them back to his brother's room before they believed his story and let him leave the hospital.
There were also stories about the famous "twin radar". The twins both got their first cash card at about the same time, and they both got to pick their own 4-digit PIN number. When comparing cards later, they realized they'd both picked the same number, 5683, because it spelled LOVE on the phone pad.
What a fun night of stories! It really was a great tribute to two men. May all the deaths in your life carry a similar amount of laughter and celebration to lessen the grief.
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