Holiday Letter

Christmas is down, the decorations are in boxes ready to be banished under the house for another 11 months…and I’m sitting down to reread my holiday cards one last time before tucking them away. I smile at the cheery faces of kids I know…and those I don’t (who are you people and why are you still sending us a card?!)…and I lament that another year has gone by where I didn’t include a Christmas letter of my own.

It is quite a travesty actually that my family and friends are not up to speed on the lives of Team M. If I had pulled my finger out to made it happen, our letter might have read a little something like this:

Dearest Friends and Family,

This has been another blessed year.

Zach (BMOC), our eldest at age 6, boldly finished top of his class in preschool and has started attending a prestigious Kindergarten in San Francisco’s highly-regarded public school district. Heavily recruited by several schools, Zach based his final selection upon whether he could avoid wearing a school uniform. His ability to write his name and recite his phone number suggests Zach’s on the fast track to becoming a member of Mensa.

Liam (Middle Man), age 4, showed more than just athletic prowess this year while playing club soccer. In addition to a fondness for the sport, Liam revealed that he also has superhuman ability similar to Spider Man and spent an inordinate amount of game time casting spider webs on people (rather than chasing the ball, defending his goal or generally paying attention to the game at all). We hope Liam chooses to use his powers for good rather than evil in 2011.

Samantha (the Mighty Midget) is our baby no more. This sweet little bundle of love has developed a vocabulary beyond her two wee years. She has body language and gestures to go with some of her favorite sayings, including “You don’t talk to me like that. I am a big girl and I can do what I want” as well as “Give me a break and get out of my way.” Another child prodigy, her naturally dramatic tendencies suggest she’ll be a Hollywood D-lister in no time.

Husband relentlessly endeavors to make our lives a circus…of fun. This year he’s continued to stock our house with furniture and sporting equipment from the "FREE" section of Craigslist. He’s also made several improvements to our home. When not sprucing up the house, he likes to watch football. Especially reruns of the World Cup USA/England game.

Our extended family—the children’s grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins—have also spent lots of time with us this year. It’s probably because we are just that awesome. The privilege of playing halfway house has extended to about 8 weeks out of the year. As in two months/year. As in a lot. But we love sharing space with the family-at-large. Especially the bathrooms.

As for moi? I am just the best. The end.

So, wishing you Happy Holidays. But not happier than mine.