2018!?

Happy New Year! How is it possible that it is already 2018?

2017 was a very busy year. There were highlights and low points, but overall it was a good year. I have missed writing here for the past several months, and I hope to make my posts more frequent this year. It is hard to summarize everything that we did this year, but I wrote a poem that we included in our Christmas card this year, so I will share that.

Ode to 2017

How to record all our adventures this year;

not sure I can get them all down on here.

2016 ended in poorly as M & M returned to their family,

January to March – we missed them terribly.

Then, back into our lives they returned with a bang,

now once a month we hang out as a gang.

 

Jess went to Philly, and in Washington we marched,

Douglas drank lots to keep from feeling parched.

In Vermont we skied with Gav and her lover;

the Thessins helped Jess find the oldest manhole cover.

In Norway we experienced Northern Lights and dogsledding,

the theater, museums and Taylor; our return we were dreading.

Not satisfied with one pole Jessica went to the other,

before taking a trip to Peru with her brother.

Thus from the streets of Buenos Aires to glaciers of El Calafate,

she found time to visit friends and drink lots of mate.

In June in Peru, Machu Picchu they did see,

the time of their lives for Jessi and Justy.

Douglas refrained from that trip because,

he was doing another trip for a cause.

From Oregon to Battery Park on a bike;

you might think that is quite a hike.

But he and Junior did it in four weeks,

down all the valleys and up all the peeks.

With only one stop for a half marathon,

which he finished in hours with nary a yawn.

Much awareness and money did he raise;

they gave him an award and beaucoup praise.

Grandma turned ninety and parties were had.

Into the Wrestling Hall of Fame they inducted my dad.

Vivie was born, and we love her a bunch.

But she still isn’t big enough to take out to lunch.

In November to Michigan we did roam,

to visit the Sawyers all gathered at home.

Visitors from Rwanda, Argentina did come.

Our garden tested Jessica’s green thumb.

The year will end with a last special group.

From Montreal and Venezuela they will troop.

To Celebrate Christmas with the crazy Spates clan,

and for 2018 we will start to plan.

Lest you think that our animals we are forgetting,

they are all doing well and demand lots of petting.

And so this terrible poem has come to an end.

We hope you are doing well, our friend.

Sincerely,

Jessica and Douglas

P.S. Shortly after this poem was published, Kahlua died unexpectedly in our bed on a Saturday night. We are glad that she was able to go from the place that she loved best and that she suffered minimally in the end.

So, I hope that your holidays were all that you hoped they would be and that we will be in contact in 2018.

Happy Homemaking!