Yes, I know it is January. Yes, I realize this is supposed to be the annual Ward Family “Christmas” letter. Would you believe me if I said that sending it late was done on purpose so that you could have one last reminder of Christmas? I know you have already taken down the tree (or thrown it off the cliff behind your house if you are me) and there is a small twinge of sadness as you say goodbye to the season for another year. And so I present to you one final dose of Christmas (“Fa la la la la La La La LAAAAH”).
So, without further ado, on to the recap. I have decided to call 2008 the year of the builder. Or the “Great Build” to those of you who like capital letters. To the Chinese, 2008 was known as the year of the Wu Zi, which also has capital letters but actually just means “rat” when translated into English. I don’t think 2008 had much ratness but I did build a bunch of stuff so I am renaming it. Maybe it will catch on, maybe not.
I thought – quite naively it turns out – that moving into our new house in Maple Valley, Washington would put an end to any and all construction projects. I was wrong. Amy and I have since installed blinds into every window, built a giant shelf in the garage, built overhead hanging shelves by the dozen, a built-in closet insert, run satellite TV cable, phone cable, Ethernet cable, a Garage Gorilla (ask Amy about that little gadget), built a small shed in the side yard, built a tri-level playhouse with three slides for the kids, and added a gate to the back fence so I can throw things off the cliff (like old Christmas trees). It sounds like a lot because it is. But I have succeeded; I cleaned out my garage to the point that I now can park both cars inside and with room to spare. Not much room but some. As I mentioned last year I am very good at Tetris. You may once again hum the tune to the video game if you know it. Driving the car in reminds me of placing the long straight Tetris piece into the puzzle. Very satisfying. So now we move on to the “slice-of-life” section of the letter where I describe for you, my valued readers, what life is like in our little home.
The day I finished the garage I decided I would celebrate by running on the treadmill. So I victoriously pulled both cars into the garage, set it up in the free space I described earlier, put on my old-man shorts and running shoes, and set out to do a little exercise. I hadn’t been on the machine for more than 2 minutes before all 3 kids – Megan, Sarah, and little Thomas – appeared behind me watching with fascination. Have you ever tried to run on a treadmill with someone standing behind you watching? It is not easy to do. So I stopped it, turned around and said, “What?” Sarah decided – very true to character – to be the spokesgirl for the threesome and the interrogation began.
“What is that thing?”
“It is a treadmill,” I responded.
“What are you doing on it?”
“Running.”
“Why?”
“For exercise.”
They stared at me for few moments trying to figure out what to say next. I had answered their questions but I could tell they were not satisfied with the answers. I knew what was bothering them – a father always knows – but I wasn’t going to make it easy since I knew where it was going, so I just stared back, defying them to say something else. Megan finally stamped her foot on the ground – also very true to character – pointed at it, and said, “Well, I’ve never seen that thing before!”
Yes, I have owned the treadmill since before the twins were born, and yes, they are almost seven and Thomas is three, and yes, that is probably the first time they can remember seeing me run on it. I quickly ushered them back inside and told my embarrassing tale to Amy. She just smiled and shrugged. I can’t prove it but I suspect now that she may have been the one who sent them out to mock me. But don’t worry about me. I am resilient and thick-skinned and I have been back on the treadmill many times since then.
Sarah and Megan are now in the First Grade and are learning new things every day. Sarah has taken to reading like a wife takes to ordering blinds for her husband to install into a new house. She loves to read and is constantly seen carrying books around and asking me what really long words mean. Even TV commercials do not escape her curiosity any longer. How do I describe to a six year old the definition of “The Toyotathon of Toyotathons”? I should have just shrugged and said, “I don’t know” but instead I dove in head first with a lengthy lecture beginning with the definition of “marathon” and ending with a small sermon on marketing. It took 10 minutes and then at the end of it she just paused and said, “Those guys will say anything to sell cars.” Ever since she has been very skeptical of car commercials and always asks me if words are made-up or real. I think deep down she suspects any words she does not recognize are made-up. She also enjoys watching science shows with me and discussing things such as the Big Bang and the more controversial Big Crush – for those of you unfamiliar, some scientists think our universe may stop expanding some day and begin contracting until it ends up where it started. After discussing it for a few minutes Sarah declared quite confidently, “I don’t believe in the Big Crush. I think our universe will always get bigger.” So there you go, Science. Sarah has spoken. I am not sure if her conclusion is based on the facts as much as her fear of being smooshed, along with everything else in the universe, into something smaller than a single atom.
Megan has yet to record her album of famous Christmas tunes but she still continues to sing almost non-stop. The sad thing for us is that she is going through a period of shyness and will stop immediately if she suspects anyone is watching or listening. I hope she out grows it soon because I love to hear her singing. But don’t mistake shyness for lack of feistiness. She is a feisty one and also very dramatic. She spends a great deal of time dressing up, dancing, and inventing stories for all of her animal friends. The stories usually take place in Ponyland – a land in Megan’s head where she lives with her pony, Cinnamon.
I once tried to play with her in Ponyland by briefly zooming a pony around the room like an airplane but was quickly reprimanded: “Dad, ponies can’t fly, they don’t even have wings, only Pegasuses can fly.” “Well,” I said, quickly trying to think of something that might result in a flying pony, “maybe she is just jumping off a diving board to go for a swim.” She just shook her head and said, “She’s just a running pony, Dad. She’s not a swimming pony. She doesn’t even have on any goggles.” So from now on I mostly just observe what goes on in Ponyland from a distance.
A typical interchange between Sarah and Megan will consist of Sarah opening a book and asking Megan, “Megan, do you want to hear this fact about Kangaroos?” At which point she begins reading the fact out loud regardless of Megan’s response. When she finishes (or sometimes even before) Megan will thrust a toy pony into Sarah’s hand and begin trying to get her to play act some scene from Ponyland. “Come on Sarah, you be the mom, I’ll be the kid…”
I don’t think either one truly realizes how lucky they are to have each other as friends and playmates. They don’t always get along but they do more than they don’t, even as different as they each are.
Thomas, over the last year, has evolved into the most boy-ish boy you’ve ever met. He enjoys playing on his toy work bench, anything involving drills, trips with me to the Tool Store (Home Depot), shooters, airplanes, and motorcycles. He talks a ton but all his “k” sounds come out like “t” so it takes a little getting used to. I would say he was a reincarnation of the ever-talking Sarah except that Sarah is still alive and talking as well. He is a very observant little boy and notices everything from very small animals on the side of the road to airplanes miles away. He also notices (very loudly) any and all motorcycles he sees. He and Megan play together quite a bit even though it often takes him to Ponyland. Megan was trying to get him to play last week and I heard him saying, “I’n not a Dad-pony, Medan, I’n dist a tid-pony.” Apparently he only plays in Ponyland if he can be the kid and Megan pretends to be the parent. He is a little comedian and loves to get a laugh. He is “working a little blue” currently as his favorite comedy topic is poop and all things poopy. I have no idea where he gets it from (sarcasm) and I’m trying to teach him some new jokes. Some good one-liners from Thomas right now; “Hey! What da bid idea?” and my favorite, “Whach you tahtin’ about Willis?”
Amy is quickly getting to know the Seattle area even better than I do. She has also started to take pictures again professionally and as word gets out she has been getting busier. But she’s going to have to wait a little bit before she really dives back into it since her O.B. has put her onto what he calls “modified bed rest” due to some concerns with her pregnancy. Do you like how I just snuck that little tidbit in? Yes, we are expecting sometime in July. Give us a call or an email and we’ll tell you about the bed rest situation. We are optimistic and excited and so far the baby is healthy. I love all three of my kids so much and they are so unique and funny. I can’t wait to see what this latest little one will be like.
Meanwhile, I continue my foray into the online used book business and I am enjoying the challenges of helping the company keep growing. If you ever need a book check out our website at thriftbooks.com. Or if you are in the area give us a call and I’ll give you a tour of one of our warehouses. We can dive in the old boxes for treasures. The kids always find something to bring home and I occasionally find a very old book worth keeping.
Time seems to keep rushing by but we are loving the adventure. We enjoyed getting everyone’s Christmas letters and pictures this year. Give us a call or send an email and we’ll fill you in on all our exploits.
Lots of love – Mike, Amy, Megan, Sarah, and Thomas Ward.
