Christmas 2012
Dear Friends,
I’m sorry about the lateness of this year’s Christmas letter. Unforeseen circumstances led to me ending up in the hospital for a week and a half and coming home on Thanksgiving Day with a six-inch scar on my belly. Something about a small bowel obstruction and exploratory surgery to lop out a chunk of my intestine – I didn’t catch most of it since I was so high on morphine that I could look down to see Mt. Everest. At any rate, I’m getting back into the swing of things now. Lucky you.
Connie also had surgery this year, of the laparoscopic variety. Some kind of malfunctioning lady-bits that had to go. Everything came out okay, and her recovery was quick. In fact, it didn’t really slow her down at all. She went from being super-mom to being super-duper-mom by becoming president of the PTO of Quincy’s school. That, in addition to church stuff, sewing she does on the side, and general childcare issues, keeps her very busy. One big sewing job she had was for several local members of the Fraternal Order of Police. They each had to come over for fittings at various times over the course of several weeks. I’m not sure what the neighbors thought, but they probably expected me to be led off in handcuffs.
Calvin (12) started 7th grade this year. Overall he’s a good kid, but he’s of the opinion that his classes are homeworkEoptional. Unfortunately, his teachers don’t share this opinion. He saved up his own money and bought himself one of those new HD Kindles, which now sits unused on my nightstand until his grades get back up. He’s either going to turn out to be remarkably well adjusted or a menace to society. You can thank/blame us later.
Felix (9) is in 4th grade, and Like Calvin, he was slacking on some homework assignments. But, as he put it, he’s “a joy to have in class,” and that’s got to count for something, right? This year, Felix (and Calvin) started participating in the local Academy of Children’s Theater. They put on several plays per year, and the boys have been in a few. Felix was a bee in Winnie the Pooh and orphan #3 (or #4?) in Oliver. Calvin was the Man with the Mop in Rapunzel. I wish I could say the boys stole the show, but let’s be honest – the cast is loaded with extras because each kid has to pay $40 to be in it.
Quincy (7) started kindergarten this year. Again. At school he’s learning to not hug the other kids. I’m not sure what kind of a world we’re living in anymore, but there you go. He’s smart and pretty darn resourceful – he figures out how to get what he wants. One day Connie called me at work to ask where Quincy got the Froot Loops. Probably out of the cupboard – where else? Turns out it was the neighbor’s cupboard, but I was technically right. The saltines he left in exchange were appreciated.
Leon (4 or 5), I forget just won’t shut the heck up. Question after question after question. “Why does the Grinch hate Christmas?” “Does he like Halloween?” “Why do you keep looking at me like that?” He said that he learned to ask so many questions from watching PBS Kids, so now we make him watch MTV. If that doesn’t shut his brain off, nothing will.
Dorothy is going to be 2 in a couple weeks. She’s cute as a button, sharp as a tack, and shares some attributes with other things we find on the floor.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The Jacob Family