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January 2008
1/5/08
1/2/08
1/2/08
Belated Christmas Greetings
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
1:05:00 AM EST
Feeling Hopeful
Hearing Christmas Jazz
Silent night, holy night… All is calm, all is bright…
Night has spread a blanket of darkness across the land and the city has settled in for a long winter’s nap. The hand of Creation has brushed lightly all about our home. A fresh layer of snow, sprinkled with heavenly glitter, shimmers beneath the corner streetlight. Above, the Milky Way has aligned its glistening jewels in the velvety heavens as a brisk frosty wind drives wisps of clouds eastward. Winter’s icy breath has frosted the bedroom windows and sent subzero fingers of air probing beneath doorjambs. Inside, the ol’ dragon in the basement belches enough heat to keep our home a refuge from the cold. Tristan purrs contentedly besides me and Tasha has settled into her favorite cat bed next to the living room heat vent. Preparations for the Holiday Season are in full swing as spritz cookies are cooling on the counter, another puppet set has been packaged and addressed for a customer in Tennessee, and the stack of “graded” final projects is almost equal to the “read and review” mountain heaped on a kitchen chair. Though there is more to accomplish (isn’t this always the case?) it is time to pause for reflection on the close of another year. It has been a time of celebration, frustration, patience, and anticipation.
Michael gave us all cause for celebration when he completed the long journey to achieving his PhD in August and walked across the stage to get “Hooded” at the summer graduation ceremony. He is enjoying his second year at the University as an assistant professor in the Department of T and L. As the Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator, Michael has found plenty of paperwork to replace his dissertation as his department prepares for NCATE re-accreditation in April of 2008. Recently Michael was informed that students have nominated him for an Outstanding Professor Award for both graduate and undergraduate teaching.
It has been a frustrating year watching our home slowly be emptied out, pictures removed from walls, treasured mementoes packed away, excess belongings hauled up to storage in UniversityTown as we prepared our home of twenty-four years for the volatile and uncertain housing market. Throughout the process we have questioned how much “stuff” we really need at this point in our lives. We’ve been left wondering when does a home simply become a house, a showplace for potential buyers to overlay their own vision of “home” upon the shell where a family of five lived and laughed, and loved for nearly twenty-five years? After nearly six months on the market and a drought of potential buyers, we have decided to wait and see what will become of Michael’s 3-year contract.
While the house was slowly being emptied and Michael drove back and forth to the U, his love has remained in town to keep Second Street Puppets in production and await the non-existent onslaught of house buyers. She has witnessed our feline clan dwindle down to two. In February our beloved Tootsie ended her twenty years of life in her arms and Thomas, our gentle giant Main Coon cat, succumbed to complications from feline diabetes in September. Thomas was our faithful shop cat and Michael’s love sorely misses his presence on and around the sewing machine as she prepares for the Summer 08 craft season.
Change is on the horizon for N as she finishes up her geology major at MSU. This summer she attended six weeks of field school that brought her to examine woolly mammoth fossil remains in South Dakota, map out the geological terrain of Yellowstone, and scour the desert highlands of Wyoming for geological anomalies. After graduating in May N is planning a trip to Japan to visit her cousin, and considering a two-year commitment to the Peace Corps. She and B may return to the old homestead to rent their old bedrooms while mapping out the next stage of life’s journey.
Throughout the year we have made several trips to northern Minnesota to visit B. While the scenery is beautiful and the pine forests of northeastern MN are a sight to behold, B has developed some allergies to the area and plans to head home in February. He has been doing a lot of running and weight lifting as he trains for entering some triathlons in 2008. After examining several options he is considering either a career in construction management or applying for the firefighting training program at the Lake Superior College or Hennepin Technical College.
From Australia to Zaire, Alaska to West Virginia - packages from all over the world and the USA find their way into the cargo bay of M’s plane as she continues to enjoy flying freight up and down the Dakotas. In August she switched cargo companies and now flies freight for UPS. Currently she has earned the rank of captain and flies one of the largest planes a pilot can fly solo, a Metro-liner. J is continuing the slow and painful recovery from his plane crash of nearly three years ago. Having spent most of his life in the warmer climes of Arizona and southern California, he continues to anticipate leaving these harsh North Dakota winters behind and returning to the southwest.
While the term traveling conjures up images of Michael driving up and down the desolate stretches on I-29 between Fargo and U-Town there were a few other memorable journeys we made in 2007. In late July, Michael, J, and N made their annual trek to the “End of the Road” to set up shop at the Blueberry Fest in scenic Ely MN. While in Ely they visited their good friends Pat and Donna; went 2,341 feet below the surface to trek the Cadillac of iron ore mines the Sudan Mine; studied wolves at the International Wolf Center; and enjoyed an outdoor concert of the Boundary Water Boys. In November J joined Michael when he attended the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Chicago, IL. The train ride to Chicago was both relaxing and productive. Michael found a gem of a hotel in the heart of Chinatown that was surrounded by fine Oriental cuisine within walking distance of the convention center, and a block from the city bus stop and an L-train station. J brought Michael to see the elephants and other sites at the Chicago Field Museum, while Michael escorted J to explore the far reaches of the universe at the Hayden Planetarium.
This year has reminded us that life is ever-changing and with every challenge comes the opportunity for unexpected blessings. We didn’t sell our house but did make some needed repairs, painted several rooms, and had the chance to reduce and reuse some our excess possessions. Michael still doesn’t have a tenure teaching position but has completed an essential task of attaining a terminal degree that will open doors in the future. While still living apart we are going to celebrate the Holidays together in Michael’s Grand Forks digs that we have come to refer as “The Mansion.” He has taken up residence in a defunct sorority house that is only two blocks from his office. The old Tri-Delt House is a three story building with 22 bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a formal dining room that seats 40, a formal living room with a fireplace and grand piano, “smoking room,” TV/recreation room, and an expansive kitchen. Michael is the only current resident and is doing some caretaker duties while the fate of the Mansion is determined. We’ve decided to Deck the Halls and invite family up to Grand Forks for “Christmas in the Mansion!”
Wherever life’s paths have led you in 2007, we wish only the best for you and yours in 2008. In a world where tales of war, famine, Global Warming, and economic hardships are only an electronic click away, a message of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Humankind may seem a whisper amidst a cacophony of woes. Yet we know it is the actions of individuals that can forge new paths of hope. We wish you a Holiday Season and New Year blessed with peace, good health, and the opportunity to be an agent of hope and change in a world awaiting the realization of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Humankind.
Shalom,
Michael Family
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1:05:00 AM EST
Feeling Hopeful
Hearing Christmas Jazz
Belated Christmas Greetings
Night has spread a blanket of darkness across the land and the city has settled in for a long winter’s nap. The hand of Creation has brushed lightly all about our home. A fresh layer of snow, sprinkled with heavenly glitter, shimmers beneath the corner streetlight. Above, the Milky Way has aligned its glistening jewels in the velvety heavens as a brisk frosty wind drives wisps of clouds eastward. Winter’s icy breath has frosted the bedroom windows and sent subzero fingers of air probing beneath doorjambs. Inside, the ol’ dragon in the basement belches enough heat to keep our home a refuge from the cold. Tristan purrs contentedly besides me and Tasha has settled into her favorite cat bed next to the living room heat vent. Preparations for the Holiday Season are in full swing as spritz cookies are cooling on the counter, another puppet set has been packaged and addressed for a customer in Tennessee, and the stack of “graded” final projects is almost equal to the “read and review” mountain heaped on a kitchen chair. Though there is more to accomplish (isn’t this always the case?) it is time to pause for reflection on the close of another year. It has been a time of celebration, frustration, patience, and anticipation.
It has been a frustrating year watching our home slowly be emptied out, pictures removed from walls, treasured mementoes packed away, excess belongings hauled up to storage in UniversityTown as we prepared our home of twenty-four years for the volatile and uncertain housing market. Throughout the process we have questioned how much “stuff” we really need at this point in our lives. We’ve been left wondering when does a home simply become a house, a showplace for potential buyers to overlay their own vision of “home” upon the shell where a family of five lived and laughed, and loved for nearly twenty-five years? After nearly six months on the market and a drought of potential buyers, we have decided to wait and see what will become of Michael’s 3-year contract.
While the house was slowly being emptied and Michael drove back and forth to the U, his love has remained in town to keep Second Street Puppets in production and await the non-existent onslaught of house buyers. She has witnessed our feline clan dwindle down to two. In February our beloved Tootsie ended her twenty years of life in her arms and Thomas, our gentle giant Main Coon cat, succumbed to complications from feline diabetes in September. Thomas was our faithful shop cat and Michael’s love sorely misses his presence on and around the sewing machine as she prepares for the Summer 08 craft season.
Change is on the horizon for N as she finishes up her geology major at MSU. This summer she attended six weeks of field school that brought her to examine woolly mammoth fossil remains in South Dakota, map out the geological terrain of Yellowstone, and scour the desert highlands of Wyoming for geological anomalies. After graduating in May N is planning a trip to Japan to visit her cousin, and considering a two-year commitment to the Peace Corps. She and B may return to the old homestead to rent their old bedrooms while mapping out the next stage of life’s journey.
Throughout the year we have made several trips to northern Minnesota to visit B. While the scenery is beautiful and the pine forests of northeastern MN are a sight to behold, B has developed some allergies to the area and plans to head home in February. He has been doing a lot of running and weight lifting as he trains for entering some triathlons in 2008. After examining several options he is considering either a career in construction management or applying for the firefighting training program at the Lake Superior College or Hennepin Technical College.
From Australia to Zaire, Alaska to West Virginia - packages from all over the world and the USA find their way into the cargo bay of M’s plane as she continues to enjoy flying freight up and down the Dakotas. In August she switched cargo companies and now flies freight for UPS. Currently she has earned the rank of captain and flies one of the largest planes a pilot can fly solo, a Metro-liner. J is continuing the slow and painful recovery from his plane crash of nearly three years ago. Having spent most of his life in the warmer climes of Arizona and southern California, he continues to anticipate leaving these harsh North Dakota winters behind and returning to the southwest.
While the term traveling conjures up images of Michael driving up and down the desolate stretches on I-29 between Fargo and U-Town there were a few other memorable journeys we made in 2007. In late July, Michael, J, and N made their annual trek to the “End of the Road” to set up shop at the Blueberry Fest in scenic Ely MN. While in Ely they visited their good friends Pat and Donna; went 2,341 feet below the surface to trek the Cadillac of iron ore mines the Sudan Mine; studied wolves at the International Wolf Center; and enjoyed an outdoor concert of the Boundary Water Boys. In November J joined Michael when he attended the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Chicago, IL. The train ride to Chicago was both relaxing and productive. Michael found a gem of a hotel in the heart of Chinatown that was surrounded by fine Oriental cuisine within walking distance of the convention center, and a block from the city bus stop and an L-train station. J brought Michael to see the elephants and other sites at the Chicago Field Museum, while Michael escorted J to explore the far reaches of the universe at the Hayden Planetarium.
This year has reminded us that life is ever-changing and with every challenge comes the opportunity for unexpected blessings. We didn’t sell our house but did make some needed repairs, painted several rooms, and had the chance to reduce and reuse some our excess possessions. Michael still doesn’t have a tenure teaching position but has completed an essential task of attaining a terminal degree that will open doors in the future. While still living apart we are going to celebrate the Holidays together in Michael’s Grand Forks digs that we have come to refer as “The Mansion.” He has taken up residence in a defunct sorority house that is only two blocks from his office. The old Tri-Delt House is a three story building with 22 bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a formal dining room that seats 40, a formal living room with a fireplace and grand piano, “smoking room,” TV/recreation room, and an expansive kitchen. Michael is the only current resident and is doing some caretaker duties while the fate of the Mansion is determined. We’ve decided to Deck the Halls and invite family up to Grand Forks for “Christmas in the Mansion!”
Wherever life’s paths have led you in 2007, we wish only the best for you and yours in 2008. In a world where tales of war, famine, Global Warming, and economic hardships are only an electronic click away, a message of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Humankind may seem a whisper amidst a cacophony of woes. Yet we know it is the actions of individuals that can forge new paths of hope. We wish you a Holiday Season and New Year blessed with peace, good health, and the opportunity to be an agent of hope and change in a world awaiting the realization of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Humankind.
Shalom,
Michael Family
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This entry has 9 comments: (Add your own)
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What a nice alert to see in my inbox. You have certainly had a full year, and I'm sure will have again this next year. You have a very nice looking family, may you all have a wonderful new year.
Smiles, Leigh
http://journals.aol.com/mleighin21st/iwasthinking.../ -
Hello from Chicago! Glad to hear that Michael spent time here. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. I hope that 2008 brings you many good things and opportunities. Take care and stay healthy.
Jude
http://journals.aol.com/jmorancoyle/MyWay -
An alert arrived in my mailbox to let me know a dear friend was indeed still around. From the sounds of it, life has given you your fair share of joy and sorrow, these past few months. But then again somehow it did balance out in the end to have the love of family and new challenges before you. Hoping the coming year finds you at peace, loved and surrounded by new memories in the making. (Hugs) Indigo
http://journals.aol.com/rdautumnsage/ravens-lament/ -
I know what a long road you have traveled my friend to achieve what you have..it will be a marvelous new year for you and your family. I certainly will follow to see what "Pep" has to say. This has been a sad year in Jland, we've lost some dear friends, so it does my heart good to see that the circle of life is running full steam ahead....love, Sandi
1/4/08 9:47 AM
Congrats to you, my friend. It has been a long road.
I hope 2008 holds nothing but happiness and good times for your family!
Cat~