2009 Christmas Letter

December, 2009

Merry Christmas!

I love Christmas and I love Christmas cards.  So for those of you who have not yet gotten organized and sent us a card – get your ass in gear!  The clock is ticking, people!  And for those of you who have sent us email cards — half credit.  You can’t get full credit unless there is an envelope and postage involved.  Listen, I don’t make the rules.  I’m just telling it like it is.  Anything that might be caught in my spam filter is not truly a Christmas card.

Now that we have that settled . . .

I had a dream last night.  We are driving on a mountain road, late at night, the road barely visible before us through the swirling snow.  Mark is driving, because even in my dreams he is a very bad passenger, forever commenting on road hazards and oncoming traffic that I am surely ignoring and asking innocently how long I think it will take to arrive at our destination if we keep driving at this speed.  Anyway, in the dream the road gets worse and worse until it becomes apparent that we will have to pull to the side of the road until conditions improve.  We are all wearing bathing suits (of course), so I begin to panic about how we are all going to stay warm and safe until the storm clears.  Mark senses my panic without my having said a word and reassures me that he has brought supplies.  The dream sense of well-being and safety that comes over me is indescribable – I am almost overcome with gratitude that this man (my husband!) has thought to come equipped to protect his family from the elements.  Visions of blankets and coats and warm clothing and hot chocolate dance in my head as I sit and wait for him to return from the trunk of the car.  He re-emerges into the glow of the car’s headlights (still wearing his bathing suit), and gestures for our two daughters to join him.

Strangely, he seems to be handing them each a bowl and spoon.  The girls scoop up bowls of snow, onto which Mark pours . . . . maple syrup.  Because clearly it’s time for a sugary and icy treat.

I wake filled with a sense of deep unpreparedness for the journey ahead.

You think it means anything?  Mark’s interpretation is that the dream means that I think of him as a fun-loving and capable problem solver who is ready to take on the world.  He is pleased with this vision of himself — a man who turns a blizzard into snow cones!  He is a man of action ready to take on any challenge!

I, however, am a little less certain of our invulnerability and have not been sleeping that well.

All these weird dreams . . .

Speaking of journeys and challenges — We’re moving to Portland next month!  I guess I could have opened with that.  After 10 years in Vallejo, we’re packing up and moving on.  House is on the market, job has been left, and good-byes are being prepared.  It’s time.  Past time, actually, but we didn’t realize it until now.

Mid-life crisis, you say?  Sure.  But if that crisis forces us to confront the fact that we are just not living the life we want to live . . . well, then, bring on the crisis.

We’ve got syrup.

Love you all very very much.  Watch for details and our new address in the coming weeks!  For those of you who would like to weigh in on our upcoming move (the votes are running 2-1 in favor of insanity), please feel free to email your congratulations, dismay, or cautionary words to any or all of us at  . . .

Wishing you nothing but the absolute best this holiday season and throughout the coming year!

Kris, Mark, Maj, and Kallan