I just finished reviewing my Christmas Letters from the past three years and have come to the conclusion that although much has happened this year and many things continue to evolve and change, some things perhaps never will. I am once again faced with the last minute Christmas crunch! I still have shopping to do, no time off to do it, and of course, am writing this letter just in time for Christmas. I don't mind, though, as I tend to be at my best when the pressure is on and am happy to take this time to share some highlights of the past year with friends and family.
Lisa and I are doing well in our comfortable home we have made in this South Lyon apartment. Sure, we could use a bigger place, especially with our four kitties: Smokey, Coal, Coffee and Jackie, but it's a nice place and we are happy here for now. We will look into getting a nicer place next year when we are better able to. A house or condo is our goal. It would be good to have more room and a yard to do some gardening in as well as facilitate the dog that Lisa longs for. I'm not sure what exactly this addition to our family might be because I have been asked if we can have a wide variety of perspective new pets, including many breeds of dog…
Our kitties are all doing well. Smokey is an amazing cat - she is still alert and happy despite being a 14-year-old diabetic. Coal is about the same - she tolerates some harassment from the younger kitties, but still seems quite happy as long as we give her enough attention. She lets us know when we have been neglectful (gone for the day or night) by "yelling" at us when we come home and demanding some attention. Coffee is pretty well established in the kitty pride and although Smokey does not care much for her she gets along well with Jackie and Coal. Jackie still gets into a fair amount of mischief, but has become a very sweet cat, quite lovey at times, as is Coffee… All in all, we can't complain - they are all a bit quirky, but each have their redeeming qualities and have established a reasonable balance for living together.
Lisa has worked for most of the year at PetSmart in Brighton. She has enjoyed working with many breeds of dog and seeing a lot of cute puppies as well as a few other assorted animals. (Did I mention that she constantly ask me if we can have one?) She works in the salon grooming dogs and teaches dog training classes twice a week. There are some positive aspects of the job that she likes, but she continues to seek different employment as there are also many undesirable aspects of working in retail. I hope she will have good luck in her job searches this coming year as many people are faced with the unfortunate reality of Michigan's poor economy and job market. I have faith that through perseverance her efforts will soon find reward.
I was officially appointed at the University of Michigan this June and have become well established there. The previous year spent working as a temp with no benefits was well worth the wait. My job continues to be educational, challenging and rewarding. I work with good people and finally feel as though some of my better skills and abilities are being utilized and developed.
I hope this letter will be well received, and in timely fashion despite my eleventh-hour composition. I really do wish to stop this last minute holiday rush to get everything done, but some things never change and in the true spirit of the season, I believe it's the thought that counts… My thoughts are with all of you this holiday season and I sincerely hope that everyone has a great holiday and a very,