OUR CHRISTMAS LETTER

Glad Tidings From the Wilson Family 2004

This year, Steve and I are hearing the melody “There’s no place like home for the holidays” over and over in our heads. You see, we’ve moved four times this year. Don’t get out your address book just yet! We’re still right here. But, each of the girls has moved this year, and somehow, of course, we ended up doing some of the heavy lifting! But we did change our phone number so as not to be left out. It’s now 949-999-9999.

Suzi – our youngest, now 23 – moved to Denver to pursue a doctorate in Psychology at Denver University. She is working as an intern counselor at the Salvation Army’s Drug & Alcohol clinic. She is also part of a research team that has matched terminally ill animals with terminally ill children who write pen pal letters back and forth to each other. Occasionally they get to meet if their health allows. Her most challenging situation in Denver so far was the day she worked at the Broncos’ football game patting down incoming fans. That was a short-lived job! Working with the terminally & mentally ill was preferable to working with the terminally intolerant fans.

Julia, always a “free spirit,” moved to a studio apartment in Beverly Hills and back again. She continues her own Massage Therapy practice and works five days a week at a spa in Santa Monica. She has been working hard to accumulate all the certifications she wants at her massage school in Culver City. We see her between trips to Hawaii and Big Sur, or whenever the wind blows her home from all her commuting.

Lisa moved to her own apartment in Costa Mesa at the end of an adventurous year. She earned her Masters Degree in Education last May. Now she is teaching a special education kindergarten class of 13 extremely energetic 5 year olds in Irvine. Brazil was her home for the summer. She enrolled in a university there to learn Portuguese; her free time spent traveling through the country “playing Capoiera”. Her 5 year olds aren’t exciting enough so she went hang gliding and took a boat trip down the Amazon where she went night fishing for piranha and cayman. She ran into the worlds’ deadliest snake on one swimming adventure. Luckily she escaped its fangs just in time to return home; where we were unable to escape helping her move. It doesn’t seem fair my daughter lives closer to the ocean than I do! . Now it seems her school kids love her so much they’re trying to set Ms. Wilson up with a boyfriend! We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

Chris moved to Orange County after accepting a job as Controller for Cox Communications, a cable/telecom company. Steve threw his back out trying to get her new Hi-Def TV up her stairs (free digital cable means a new TV). But that’s ok with him as long as he can watch football on her wide screen. She turned 30 this year. (Just don’t ask how old that makes us!) Chris is active in the Singles ministry at Saddleback Church. She’s even helped me swing the dust off my tennis racquet, proving that I can still beat the youngsters.

I love teaching my twenty first-graders and one skeleton, named Steve. He “writes” them daily notes and helped them find the leprechaun that roamed our room the month of March. I began tutoring my doctor’s son this year, so when he told me to take a trip to Hawaii. I was compelled to follow doctor’s orders (the 1st time I ever did and probably the last)! Steve and I snorkeled, hiked over lava for half a mile, and squished our way for 7 rainy miles up a hill and through a bamboo rain forest to a magnificent waterfall. Everyone knows how the Wilson’s love car trips so of course we had to drive the road to Hanna (if you call that a road, I DO NOT). The wind howled, the rain pounded the tin roof of our primitive shack, and I prayed all night! I was sure we would wake up back in Kansas next to the Tin Man. I spent the rest of my summer teaching at the UC Irvine Summer Writing Institute for Kids, many who came from Hong Kong to attend our program.

Steve was on the move too. He met a new friend at church and a week later he was off on the Beatitude, a 32 ft. sailboat. He and his friend of 4 hours sailed from San Pedro, around the tip of Baja to La Paz, then to Laredo, Mexico, in 15 days. They took 4- hour watches around the clock, keeping a lookout for anything other than water (they didn’t see land for 7 days). When he returned another friend asked him to help merge his engineering firm into a new design-build light-gauge steel framing company. Steve also participated in “Everyman Ministry” at Saddleback Church; most recently to help provide support for single mothers & sponsoring a men’s conference in concert with the inner city churches of South-Central LA.

As you can see, the Wilson Family is as busy as ever. We cherish the Holidays when we’re all home together. We wish you a Blessed Christmas and Joyous New Year.

E-mail: wilzk@yahoo.com or marywilsonteacher@yahoo.com