What a year!
It began with an exciting Superbowl win.
I feel like
ending the letter now. Lol.
Let’s skip,
hop, and jump over the elephant/s of 2020 and just talk about all the changes
in our family this year.
Roy was
deployed for Kuwait in March and will be back in mid-January. I have to say
that the timing was perfect as there was really nothing else to do this year. Our
family’s biggest fear when he gets deployed is not his safety (sorry!). It’s
knowing that he will be alone with his thoughts. We have no idea what grand
ideas he will be daydreaming about. One deployment, he insisted on our family
starting a shrimp farm. A shrimp farm!! In the mid-west. With a family that
hates shrimp. I had to crush those dreams real quick. This time, he is dreaming
up plans for our family to live completely self-sufficient. That is at least
better than a shrimp farm. He is divvying up jobs among all the big kids in the
hopes that no one really notices how many jobs he has out in the field. Well, I
NOTICE!
After losing
my job due to one of the elephants, Matthew and I started doing Instacart and
Doordashing to make money for all the kids’ activities……that all got canceled.
SO, I spent my money on redecorating the house – new counters, painting, new
bathroom, new carpet, updated pictures, happy sh*t on the walls, etc. I took up
drinking this year. I’ve been trying to be a habitual drinker for years but
failed repeatedly. I’m better now. I knew I got to a good point when I was
trying to break up a fight-to-the-death brawl between 2 of my boys and Mary
Kate yells, “MOM!”. I look over and she is handing me a glass of wine. I
stopped cold, grabbed the wine and drank it while the boys continued their
carnage. My homeschool moms would be proud.
Nick lost
one job but quickly found another. Audrianna has been able to work from home
all year. I hope home jobs are going to be a new norm after this experience.
Mary Kate
lost her Camp Barnabas, Special Olympics, and T-Ball. She talks about missing
it all the time but I tell her she is fine and she is happy. All I have to do
is tell her how she is feeling and then she agrees and feels how I told her to
feel. Lol. Why can’t that trick work on all my kids? What a gift. You should be
jealous.
Samantha
lost her job and moved back in until she left again for NET in August. She
travels the country, putting on Catholic retreats for High Schoolers. She’s
been to 22 states so far. She loves it even with the challenge of plans
changing unexpectedly. She is meeting great people and having independence from
her family has really helped her gain confidence and grow spiritually. She
snagged herself the finest young man I have EVER met a week before she left for
NET. I pray that relationship stays strong during her missions. She will be
back permanently in May.
People still
needed their lawns mowed so Max was able to continue earning money. He graduated
from the Fire Academy and just has his EMT test to pass before applying for
jobs. He is so excited and my impatience to get that done is wearing him out. I
feel like my job as a parent is complete after he passes that test! He is dating
a girl that we’ve known for several years in the homeschool community. She is
one of 11 children so I’ve already been one-upped. Literally.
Theresa lost
her job (can you see a trend?) so she stole her brother’s identity and started
Doordashing with Josie. We will have fond memories of passing each other on the
road and having Doordash competitions. I kept her home from St. Michael’s for
her senior year because I didn’t want to waste money where I foresaw most days
on zoom calls in her bed. It was replaced with homework and stupid YouTube
videos in her bed with a bag of Cheetos nearby but at least its free. She also
snagged herself a boyfriend that she can surprise Daddy with when he comes
home.
Ben made the
lead role as Tom Sawyer in his Theater program but it got canceled. He took it
well but that may have been because I sobbed for days to make up for the both
of us. He got a job at Chick-Fil-A and he was only 14. Impressive. It’s good to
know people. It is very good for him. He says “my pleasure” ALL THE TIME and he
can’t stop. He finally gave up trying to not say it so much and embraces the
habit. He has to walk a lot outside with a basket of food in whatever the
weather is – cold, rain, etc. But that’s ok. It’s all for the good of our
health, right? <insert eyeroll> Ben began an all boys academy for High
School. He goes twice a week and “does his homework” on the other days. We are
working on that homework issue. Saying, “wait till your dad gets home” didn’t
do the trick the first semester. Now he is scared out of him mind because he
WILL be home 2nd semester.
Josie is 13
and has been such a blessing. She cleans, plays with the kids, does her
homework – sometimes she finishes while I’m still in my PJs and eating
breakfast. She pays attention when I teach no matter how boring it is. She is
always happy. Never sad. She is an amazing friend to her friends. We all tell
her to stay exactly how she is. Don’t change! Her volleyball team came back
together and went from a season that couldn’t win a game to winning 1st
place in their pre-season tournament – with the same team!! Is that even
statistically possible? Her teammates loved each other just as much as the year
before. No drama. Just sweet girls that wanted to be together win or lose.
Matthew had
a big year. He knows all the restaurant employees in Raymore because he in the
face of Doordashing. He keeps them all up-to-date on his progress with saving a
buying his first dirt bike (& 2nd & 3rd). He
started going to different dirt bike tracks in the area. He wiggles and
giggles and speaks incoherent nonsense as we drive to another track. After disappearing on the track for long
periods of time, he comes back for a quick 30 second rest and we lock eyes and
smile. We don’t have to say anything. We both know - he is having the time of
his life. He says, “I love you” more times than I can count when we are at the
track. I converted our 12 passenger van
into our camper for volleyball tournaments and dirt bike track days and
overnights. It doesn’t matter if we are sandwiched between $50K toy
haulers/RVs, we both are perfectly happy with my make-shift, 1999 Ford
12-passenger camper. We watch a movie together and fall asleep in our warm
sleeping bags and propane heat lamp nearby.
Andrew made
3 new friends this year – one we picked up at a garage sale. Lol. He’s a
popular kid. He’s just as loveable and sweet as he has always been. He and
Juliana are nearly inseparable. Juliana is sad when Andrew is gone. They are
little buddies.
Overall, our
family has gotten closer whether we wanted to or not. We maneuvered around the
crap that surrounded us, like shopping in a county without a mask mandate and
finding a church that snubbed their noses at the mandates. We tried to turn
lemons into lemonade as much as we could. It was difficult but at the end of
the day, we all had each other. I physically hurt for people that are lonely.
Being broke can and does hurt but nothing is more painful than loneliness. Our
family does not have that. We can each have alone time by force – hiding in a
closet or a car. But a lonely person can’t force the household of loved ones. I
pray fervently for the 99.7ish% of the people that were ignored this year. God
bless them.
God bless you
all.
God bless
our country.
Love,
The Christys
– Nick, Mary Kate, Samantha, Max, Theresa, Ben, Josie, Matthew, Andrew, Juliana
and Mom & Dad
