We write a Christmas letter every year. It’s a lovely tradition and gesture, but every year as we prepare to write it, I can’t help but think two things:
- Our life is a bit depressing.
- Our life is super BORING.
“Seasons Greetings! The year progressed from January to December once again. We worked, the kids played. Oh and by the way here’s who died and we had the flu twice. Happy Holidays, here’s hoping 2016 is better!”
This past year, completely unrelated to our Christmas letter, my husband made a New Years resolution to increase our vocabulary as a family, so we had a word of the week. It was a fun tradition through out the year, but even better was that when we were faced with the daunting task of making our Christmas letter fun and enjoyable–we didn’t have to make stuff up or lie! We wrote the letter using the 50 words from the year, and not only was the process a riot, the end result was fun and enjoyable to read (at least our family thinks so) 🙂
So if you are looking for a way to liven up your Holiday letter, or just a new idea to increase vocabulary and raucous good time in your home, give it a try! Here is our 2015 magniloquent epistle:
Season’s Greetings from The Foster Farm!
This year’s update will be an exciting one for our fortuitous readers, as the ever menseful Clay made a poignant resolution that we increase our vocabulary in a proactive fashion. Every week this year, we chose a word of the week, though admittedly we were lackadaisical at times and missed a few weeks. The following letter serves not only as a yearly update, but also an inclusive and arduous articulation of our advocacy of literacy, though notably superfluous.
As we perseverated on our year, we kept ruminating about the mercurial and perhaps even serendipitous nature of this year’s events. We began the year in squalor, after a flood decimated our finished basement. Though this was an abysmal start to the new year, family, friends and community members rallied benevolently to support us during this time. This altruism was intrinsic to our recovery, not to mention the revival of our sunken spirits and we one day hope to reciprocate the love and philanthropic acts. We are happy to report that though progress has been slow, the once ruined space has been reclaimed and allocated as a new bedroom for Skylar. We hope to have her moved in by the new year!
Unfortunately, the news did not improve after the flood. The winter here was long and obdurate, and we were plagued by intrusive illness. We spent much of the winter and spring months disengaged, our social lives held in abeyance due to virulent nature of things. Needless to say, the lack of stimulation and recreation left the Foster Family in a state of ennui. Luckily, as the sun began to shine and we got our bodies moving outside, health and morale improved. Maggie however, was an enigma, continuously suffering at the hands of insolent illness, which was truly blasphemous. Maggie’s medical dilemma challenged our equanimity, but we persevered, and after a healthy combination of modern medicine and tincture of time, that precocious bundle recovered and continues to astound us daily.
The end of the school year manifested in a plethora of activities showcasing the kid’s achievements and talents. Emmett performed in the school musical, Once on this Island and successfully completed his first year of middle school, now a practiced baritone hornist. Skylar ran a 5K with Girls on the Run VT, danced in her first official dance recital and graduated from the 4th grade, dubbed “authentically Skylar” by her teachers.
The summer brought a dogmatic shift to the Foster Farm. Meg returned to work, after a two and half year hiatus. The decision was a pragmatic one, but filled with relentless cogitation and ambivalence. Overall she is happy to be putting her knowledge, skills and acumen to good use once again. The garden was a bit of a flop this year, yielding only garlic and rhubarb. To say it was a complete disaster may be a bit of a hyperbole, but not too far off. Next year we plan to construct a new raised bed design that will hopefully aid in our plight with invasive grass. More to come! Meg’s brother Mike got married in August to Rebecca, his long time sweetheart. The nuptials were amazing, upholding the perfect balance of diplomacy and ruckus! A great time was had by all, and we are so happy to officially welcome Becky to our wacky family.
The summer flew by, in a benign fashion, and soon it was time for the kids, now both middle schoolers, to head back to school. There was no hedging, when it came to Skylar’s middle school debut. She has been very busy, entrenched in ballet, soccer, cross-country, clarinet, The Minor Key music program and now drama. She continues to be a social butterfly (read: chatterbox), but her busy schedule keeps her on the straight and narrow. Emmett continues to enjoy his middle school days. He had a large role in the fall Monty Python skits, wowed us during The Minor Key concert, marched in the parade playing his baritone, and had a successful final year of soccer. He participates in many afterschool clubs, including jazz band, drama and Dungeons and Dragons. Though a bit obtuse at times, he continues to be a bright and happy young man.
In October we bid farewell to two beloved family members. Our dog of 13 years, Guinness came down with a seemingly innocuous cough that proved otherwise, and he crossed over the rainbow bridge on October 12th. Though he had his idiosyncrasies, we loved Guinness and miss him everyday. The following day, on what would have been Meg’s grandparent’s 69th wedding anniversary, Meg’s Gram passed away, a fitting tribute to their love. Though saying goodbye is always hard, we are happy that neither are suffering any longer and are finally at peace.
We had a quiet Thanksgiving here in Vermont and are planning on a subdued Christmas holiday as well. We are happy to engage in a quiet end to offset a somewhat frantic year. Thank you for subscribing to our sesquipedalian and perhaps histrionic letter. Here’s wishing you and yours a peaceful holiday season and a new year full of adventures, logophillic or otherwise.