Archives--Christmas 2016 

It’s that time of year again when we attempt to put the closing year into a sturdy, reusable box and tie a big ribbon around it and send it out with season’s greetings.

This has been no ordinary year.  In talking to several people, the best things about 2016 are a.) it’s almost over and b.) it can only happen once.

We were bummed, as well.  Between professional unhappiness and election in the era of social media, it’s been difficult.  Then, a chance stop in an out-of-the-way bookstore in Greenfield, Indiana introduced us to a great series of positive thinking records by the Swami Baha.  Now, we’re not ones to offer unsolicited life advice, but wow, what a change they’ve made in us. 

Take our year, for instance.  In the past, we might have determined there was nothing worth sharing and decided not send a Christmas letter.  Instead, we found a particle of light in each situation and with it, a positive. The Swami refers to this as discovering light as a means of uncorking the prana.  (Side 1, Even if Your Bootstraps are Broken, You Still Have Boots; 1974 Incogitable, Ltd.)

So with the Swami’s scratch-addled voice in our heads, we’ve sought out the bright side of the light display, deemed our eggnog cups half-full, and offer a glimpse into our 2016.

FACT:  We have become little more than executors of a six-year-old girl’s vibrant social calendar.

OUR VIEW:  Our past social life was often unrewarding and free time is overrated.  Sloane is a happy, popular girl that despite her premature independence, still likes doing things with the parents.  That will change soon enough.  Now, it hardly seems like a weekend if we don’t have multiple birthday parties or social commitments.

FACT:  Kristen turned 40 this year.

OUR VIEW:  She’s better than ever and we had a huge party to prove it.  You were probably there and if you weren’t you can always say you were.  There’s no way we could have seen everybody.

FACT: Sloane wanted to play tee-ball this year.

OUR VIEW:  After last spring’s, shall we say, loose interpretation of the game at the local Y, we were a bit leery.  But take four fun dads, a dozen precious 4-6 year-olds, and one bumbling, yet self-important league coordinator and you get the feel-good hit of the summer.  With Kristen as general manager and Steve coaching, we were able to smash the participation awards, break out the spikes and go undefeated.  Then, we ate meat and drank beer while the players swam, because that’s what winners do.

FACT:  After a few months of apathy in a top-secret location procuring health foods and supplements, Kristen has moved on to a new job.

OUR VIEW:  Her new job at Sheridan Christian Center is far more laid back, pays better, and fits perfectly with Sloane’s school schedule.  She runs the office, helps with the weekly bulletin, and is the in-house technical wizard.  She is still good with sensitive information—refusing to divulge the secret to achieving just-right staleness for communion crackers.  She is still working with Lipsense and would be happy to hook you up.  Call, text, or send a message via Facebook.

FACT:  Tulsa Public Schools  Education in Oklahoma is a mess.

OUR VIEW:  Some of the schools do really well, including Eisenhower International School, which is also an immersion school. We’re also optimistic about the new Superintendent Gist—anybody that wears her hair like Mr. Cedric from Sophia the First must be a woman of action. Since private school is not in the budget, we should do whatever it takes to get Sloane into EIS.  So, after meetings, tours, background checks, support groups, child assessments, sworn affidavits, and high-level security clearances, we were herded into a room with dozens of other families looking at a desk with a standard bingo hopper on top.  This would ultimately determine Sloane’s scholastic fate for the next six years.

After an excruciating wait, her name was called and she is now in the Spanish immersion program.  She is doing great in school, has many friends (as do we) and she goes around the house speaking Spanish.  We don’t always know what she’s saying but she rolls her Rs, her beautiful Rs.

FACT:  Steve’s mother had a frightening head injury this past summer.

OUR VIEW:  Mimi took easy for a few months for the first time in her life.  Sure, a cracked skull and blood on the brain is frightening—almost as much as a stagnant Mimi—but everything seems to be fine now.  And we must point out that Sloane was able to get her back to our house from three blocks away.

FACT:  With an act like that, Sloane demonstrates a certain aptitude for leadership.  That needs to be nurtured.

OUR VIEW:  We noticed the same thing, but with the waiting list for the Urban Little Achievers as long as it is, we needed a different outlet.  That brought us to Daisy Scouts and it allowed Kristen to participate as a Troop Leader.  These Daisies are a cute, energetic bunch of go-getters and Kristen can instill the importance of having a Type-A personality into them at an early age.

FACT:  We did very little traveling this year.

OUR VIEW:  We didn’t donate any electronic equipment, clothing or corrective lenses to a single lodging establishment this year.  Besides, we were Thanksgiving guests at Uncle Rick and Aunt Sondra’s new lake house somewhere above Arkansas.  That actually felt like a vacation.  Somebody even got sick.

If nothing else was learned in 2016, it is that perspective is everything.  Each year has its ups and downs, love, laughter, and happiness.  So as we wish you the best of holidays, we thank you for enriching our lives and look forward to making 2017 the best yet.  Or if the Swami Baha would have been a Brooklyn hipster alt-rocker, he might have put it this way.

“Cause it’s one thing to start with a positive jam and it’s another to see it all through.                         And we couldn’t have done this if it wasn't for you.                                                                                                              

 

We gotta stay positive.”

Happy Holidays