Season’s Greetings Family and Friends!
It’s that time of year again when bundles of holiday cards start making their way to our mailboxes. Traditional holiday cards are a way for us to remember the people we love, acknowledge individuals who have touched our lives, and reconnect with those with whom we have lost touch. The holiday card has good intentions. It’s an opportunity to let people know that you care and think about them. (Well, at least once a year anyhow).
After years of the traditional holiday card, people started sending the infamous “holiday newsletter”. In this letter, the sender typically writes a page or two detailing the events, activities, and accomplishments of the previous year and sends in place of a traditional holiday card. I appreciate people who take the time to update everyone on the happenings of their life, especially if they also include pictures!
At some point, while reading about the amazing lives everyone else seemed to be living, some people started feeling their lives paled in comparison. And from that feeling of inadequacy, the holiday card/newsletter/picture combo was born! The innocent holiday card had now turned into an opportunity to say “you should feel special because I remembered you” to the folks on our holiday card list, while simultaneously allowing you to embellish details of the previous year and show everyone that (with the right lighting, setting, and professional photographer) your family is better looking than most. Each year, this type of holiday correspondence seems to get more competitive and unbelievable. I unquestionably enjoy seeing pictures of my friends and family and hearing about what they’ve been up to in the last year. But what I LOVE is when I get to read things like how a friend’s 2 year old is fluent in 3 languages, a piano prodigy, and there has been talk of a Harvard scholarship. Or how a relatives spouse is currently up for a promotion that would give him a 6 figure income, a company car, and use of the corporate jet any time he chooses (oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize Domino’s delivery guys had such opportunities! I may have to re-think my career path)! Reading this type of holiday letter is like reality TV; it’s so bad, but you just can’t stop watching! However, you’ve probably noticed that few people ever talk about anything negative and would never even think about admitting there have been challenging or rough times during the previous year. Personally, this is the best type of letter and I want to thank everyone who sent a letter like this! For those of you who sent the generic card with only your name signed at the bottom, I challenge you to step it up next year!
With that said, I typically don’t send holiday cards, and this is my first attempt at a Holiday Letter! It is full of the good, the bad, and the ugly! I can’t guarantee there will be a second letter next year, but I would bet on the chance that someone will ask to be taken off our future holiday letter list.
2011 started with Sam and me hosting a New Year’s Eve party that ended by 10:00 pm. Yeah, lame I know, but we just don’t do midnights anymore and didn’t want our friends on the roads after 12:00. We ended the month with 3 offers on our house after struggling with the decision to do a short sale (not unlike a lot of folks in the Las Vegas area). However, UNLIKE everyone else, ours took less than three months from listing to closing, leaving us with just a few short weeks to find a new place to live. We lucked out and found a great place, in a great neighborhood, that is closer to work for both of us, but half the cost. We moved in just 1 day before Sully’s second birthday party, and call me crazy, but we still held it amongst the boxes and bubble wrap.
Sullivan Wrigley (a.k.a. Sully) turned 2 on February 18th and is the most fearless, risk-taking child I’ve ever met. He does very well in school and his teachers keep telling me how helpful, mild mannered and loving he is. I often point to him and ask, “you know this one is Sully, right?” He hasn’t always shown those characteristics at home, especially with his brother. Sully is a very independent child and refuses to accept help from anyone. We’ve even received dirty looks from people for “making him” walk long distances, carry heavy things, or pull his own suitcase through the airport. Little do they know, if we tried to help him, his reaction could quite possibly resemble a scene from the Exorcist. Sully has grown up so much in the last year. He went from a baby to a little boy so quickly. He loves doing anything and everything his big brother does! He asks many questions, is very observant, and constantly takes in his entire surroundings (which sometimes make walks to the park much longer than necessary). He has started to bear a resemblance to the child I keep hearing about from his teachers. Sully has many interests: T-ball (even though he was too young to play this year, the coach let him tag along and participate a bit during practice). He loves Lego’s, puzzles, Indian and Thai food that even Sam thinks is too spicy (I take personal joy in the fact that I have a 2 year old who can not only SAY "chicken tikka masala", but also loves to eat it). Oh, and if you need help with your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, he’s your guy! He knows how to get around better than I do. He is currently being pursued by Bill Gates to help get Microsoft back on top! He is also just months away from graduating with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT. We’re so proud!
Maddux Anthony turned 4 on October 18th. He was quite upset over the fact he had to be 4 before he could turn 5. He has now has accepted that that’s the way it has to be. For his birthday (and our 5th anniversary), Grandma Linda came down from Minnesota and we all drove to San Diego for 5 days. We celebrated by bringing the boys to Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Lego Land, and the Beach at Coronado Island. Everyone had a blast and both boys loved the animals, shows, and rides. Maddux is a pretty even combination of me and Sam. He can be the most laid back kid in the world, and puts up with a lot from his rambunctious little brother. He is very patient (most of the time), and quite sensitive. It’s moments like this that I feel I’m looking at a smaller version of Sam. Maddux is also very inquisitive. He insists on knowing every detail about whatever topic he is asking about and always wants to be “in the know”. I sometimes find it difficult to answer his questions. Questions like “Why do people have two legs”, or “Mom, why do I need a babysitter if I’m not a baby?” He occasionally requires instant gratification and sometimes tries to pull the “I’m annoyed so I’m going to shut down and not talk to you” trick. These are definitely his mom’s qualities! It’s totally ironic when I’m the one telling him he can’t get upset so easily and shouldn’t walk away without talking about his feelings. I can almost hear Sam’s smirk from the other room when he hears those words coming from my mouth. Maddux also loves music and performing. He enjoys many instruments like guitar, drums, harmonica, and piano. He’s definitely a “thinker” and keeps us smiling with the stuff he comes up with. He played T-ball for the first time this year and loved everything about it, with the exception of him not being able to field EVERY ball! He is tall, thin, and athletic, has blond hair, and blue eyes (I’m pretty sure all of those features came from his mom as well). He is currently weighing offers from Calvin Klein for a modeling contract or a 4 year/6 million dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs. Hmmm, choices, choices.
Sam keeps quite busy at work and for a few moths this year, traveled quite often. It was certainly not fun for me acting as a single mom, but definitely made me appreciate him more when he was home. It’s amazing how much we take for granted when we have people in our lives to help us take care of the little things. Sam is a manager at an Oncology software company. He keeps getting promoted and additional responsibilities, so he must be doing something right, but I’m still not quite sure what his job completely entails. All I know is he is busy, has a lot of responsibility, and apparently is the “go to” person for just about everything. We are expecting the keys to the company jet to arrive sometime in the next few months.
Outside of work, Sam makes plenty of time for his family, friends, and passions. He spent some time with old friends and my dad at our cabin in Minnesota last February attending something called the “EelPout Festival”. I’m not sure we agree on what “fun” is, because most of his time was spent in the freezing cold, snow, and ice. He also took his yearly “Spring Training Baseball Weekend” trip with his buddies to Arizona. In September he camped during a 4 day music festival at the Gorge in Washington State, where he saw a few of his favorite bands. Of course he wanted me to go, but if you’ve ever met me….you know better. Let’s see, camping, crowds, loud music, and no showers? “No sweetie, that’s ok, you go ahead and have fun!” In December, he had a business trip to Denver and had an opportunity to catch a Bears vs. Broncos game and unfortunately watched his team (Da Bears) get beat by the “unconventional” Tim Tebow.
Krista - For those who know me, you know how much I love to plan a party. So along with our New Year’s Eve celebration, I helped plan a very dear friend’s wedding in January. It was beautiful and tons of fun! As far as my job, I was working at Nevada Cancer Institute and every day started with me half-heartily going into work for too many hours, with too much to do, and not enough support to get things done. I really enjoyed a handful of the people I worked with, and some of them have become my closest friends, but all the negativity was really starting to weigh on me. I started looking around for other opportunities, but never jumped ship. Sam and I decided to plan a vacation to Mexico for a week in April and invited our friends Brandon and Corrine to join us. I had been there before with my girlfriends and really wanted him to experience the place I plan to live someday! In between planning that trip and actually taking it, one of Sam’s closest friends got married in Florida. We went for a long weekend and while I was there, my company laid off 65% of their staff, (including me). Many people thought I would have been devastated, but it was a great sense of relief. I refer to my last year there as “Hotel California”. You know, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” Unless they make you apparently! Anyhow, I was able to enjoy the rest of my weekend, came back to Las Vegas, then left for Mexico a few weeks later. When we got back, I had an interview with a local health care company and started work shortly after. It is a complete change from my previous job, not in a bad way, just a change. I’m not sure it’s my dream job, but then again…you don’t see many job postings for “professional vacationer: must have experience with spas, pools, beaches, boogie boarding, lounge chair usage, tropical drinks, 5 star restaurants, and room service” very often. (If someone knows of any openings, please send them my way!) So I’ve decided to see where this new project takes me. In August, my girlfriends and I took a “girls weekend” to a resort in Rancho Mirage, California. We spent three days at the spa getting pampered, shopping, eating, and hanging in our cabana by the pool. After our return, I helped plan another event, a beautiful rehearsal dinner for my dear friend Corrine. I then was a bridesmaid in her gorgeous wedding! In September I took the boys to Minnesota to visit Grandma Linda and Papa Gary. They were slightly confused why they didn’t need snow boots because they seem to associate Minnesota and Christmas with snow and cold. Sounds about right to me!
This year the boys were even MORE confused at Christmas because we were packing shorts, sandals, and swim trunks. After Sam and I visited Mexico, we thought it was time to bring the boys, so we decided to spend Christmas 2011 back in Mexico. We got the boys’ passports, booked our villa, airline tickets, and we were set! Off we went for 11 relaxing days of sun, sand, and Mexican Culture. We also brought Grandma Connie with us (this was NOT a selfless act). It was a great Christmas break for her and it gave Sam and me a chance to spend some time exploring the city without the kids. It was one of the best Christmases ever!
We have come to realize that there are three very important rules in a relationship everyone should follow. 1) Allow your spouse to spend time/take a trip with friends. 2) Take a trip with your spouse, but without your children. 3) Take a trip that the whole family will enjoy (and it doesn’t hurt to bring a Grandmother along!). These don’t have to be extravagant trips, even a night out or a long weekend. I’m very grateful my entire family loves to travel. In fact, Maddux was disappointed when he found out we weren’t staying in Mexico forever and we had to wait three months before going to Kauai. Actually, that made two of us but I’m still working on the other two!
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year,
The Schmitz Crew: Sam, Krista, Maddux, and Sullivan
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