I feel guilty when folks send holiday cards and personal letters. I stopped that practice some years ago. A blog post is about all I can offer in return.
Our family has some holiday traditions. We have lasagna and we watch Emmit Otter and the Jug Band Christmas. This movie was originally a Jim Hensen television holiday special from 1977 and just the kind of nostalgia you can latch on to. I thought we were unique in our regard for this holiday program, but one of our daughters saw an Emmit Otter tee-shirt online and we all ended up with Emmit Otter PJs for the holidays.
I have one tradition of my own. The last weekend before Christmas some of the workers at the dump / recycling center dress for the season and I always ask to take a photo with them.
We have a family gathering at our lake cabin. This has been our tradition for several years, but traditions sometimes have to change. Son Todd and family moved from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City, but flew back for the holidays so we were together again. When all of us were living close to each other in the Minneapolis/St Paul area this proximity had to be unusual, but this changed. Both Salt Lake City and MSP are hubs so plane travel is easy. The new jobs are working out well. Porter and Olive have adjusted very well to new schools. The area with many ski areas and mountain terrain offers great opportunities for the outdoor activities they love and Salt Lake City is a great place to visit.
Both daughters have new ventures. Kim has expanded her OT head trauma treatments by adding one day a week as a private practice. The delays for therapy in the medical professions can be lengthy which is not in the best interest of patients and this new arrangement allows her to explore a more productive approach. Sid and Frankie are multi-sport athletes and Jim is assistant coach for Sid’s basketball team. We often have the opportunity to watch games on weekends.
Lynn has started a business as the CEO of a medical startup focused on physical therapy opportunities for pediatric cancer patients via an app delivering exercise tasks recommended by therapists. Requirements for security when it comes to children using the Internet for any medical activity make this more complicated than most online ventures and the system recommends exercises but also tracks activity and provides the data the professionals need to evaluate progress. Raising money from venture capitalists is the way it gets done, but the financing approach is foreign to those with our backgrounds. Addie is off to college at Madison and had a good first semester. All are healthy.
Cindy and I will soon be off to Kauai for a couple of months. We will have several different guests so it should be a great time. We took a trip along the coast of Norway a couple of months ago. The fjords are spectacular and we also spent time with a recent friend in Denmark and a teaching friend of Cindy’s in Oslo. Having the time and good health to travel has resulted in many great memories and photos.
Marker for Arctic Circle
Best wishes to all.