Cop out Christmas Card

Upon reading all the nice cards that have come to our house I feel a little guilty doing ours in this form but this year this is how I am going to do it due to the many things we are facing right now.  As you know for many years I (Stan) have enjoyed writing the annual Christmas letter, sticking it in an envelope, and sending out some sort of greeting.  This year the card is a little harder to write. It seems to me that the uncertainty that comes with all of the recent events can overwhelm a family and the normal energy is not hanging around as it relates to finding cards, envelopes and the like.  I did send a donation to the post office because I know they are hurting this year so given that "fact" please accept this offering as this years Christmas greeting.

I am going to choose not to write about the "c" word.  I think we have had enough of that and perhaps we and the people who read this have heard enough so let me go forward with some other things going on in our lives.  Some of this stuff has appeared in the blogs so please also pardon the redundancy.

Highlight of the year is the fact that Mieke and Aaron have agreed to be married.  I think the date is June 1.  I am kind of looking forward to this day as Aaron has become an accepted and loved person around here now for some time.  I have been a little surprised by the amount of work it is to plan one of these weddings. It seems to me that all of the decision are made and modified several times. I was not particularly aware that colors, cards, flowers, pictures, rings, bridesmaids, dresses, save the date cards, guest list, flower girls, caterers, wedding shoes and the like had as much thought behind them as they do.  I am learning a lesson about a world I did not know. I kind of remember showing up and at some point saying "I do"  and I was married.  I was going to invite the President but the Holland airport does not have a long enough runway.  So I think we will just stay with some relatives and friends and let the Pres watch it on TV.  He did that for the Kate and Harry event so it will be good enough for me.  It is nice that Aaron's parents have helped with some of the work related and are fun to work with.  Conrad and I are going to give a speech. They are coming over on Christmas eve so we will start to get those together. Then if it goes like all the rest of the stuff we will get together a couple of more times and change them.

Mieke is on the verge is getting her teaching degree. One more semester of student teaching and then I will bet that she lands the job of her choosing.  She seems to be connected and liked by the people she has worked with.  Of all of life's events Mieke's unquestioned pursuit of a career in this education field has been something to behold.  We have been happy with her education at Hope.  By the way, Hope has been very helpful in working with us to adjust Mieke's schedule so that she could have a lower profile in semester 1 this year. That way she could help Deb around here as she has needed the help recently.  Also I think the Hope bandit is about done.  I am not sure it is fair to call it that but somehow money is not hanging around here that long with Mieke at Hope.  One more semester! 

Ross is playing more for the GR Symphony.  They take care of him pretty well and they call him all the time.  He and Rumy are finishing their Doctoral degrees at MSU and I think they see the light at the end of the tunnel.  They found a piano which they needed for Rumy to teach her lessons and now is located in their house.  It was a stage Piano and it was really banged up so Grandpa and Grandma Vermeulen took on the project of restoring the piano. Now it shines and sits in their living room.  Rumy plays the instrument endless hours as the demands of performing at her level are quite large.  They are not sure where things are going after they get the degrees but at this point it would appear that they will not have a hard time finding work.  After lots of work Rumy got her green card to stay and work in the States this year.  Then they went to Bulgaria where they did a wedding ceremony with her family and friends.  Rumy's parents wanted to host a ceremony there for their only daughter.  Deb and I were supposed to go and we had the tickets. We had to cancel as the timing fell right at the time when Deb had her surgery. We do have a nice video of the event and their Bulgarian friends treated them very well during the three weeks they were there.

Alden and Mary have had a good year. Both with good years at work. Unfortunately, Mary lost both of her Grandparents on her mothers side this year. I think this was hard for her as she was close to them and will miss them. Being the proactive person that she is, Mary organized something for us that really helped us during this recent time. She set up a plan where people could sign up to bring meals as Deb recovered from the surgery and is going through the Chemo process.  I think she might have been worried that if this were left up to me disaster could occur.  As it worked out this was one of the largest helps we could ever have received.  Both Deb and I cannot thank people enough for what they did in this area.  We would generally get a meal every other night and make it last two days.  It turned out just right and very frankly taught us a bunch about how nice people are.  Kind of lifted the spirits in time they needed to be lifted.  Alden has turned into quite a fisherman and really enjoys this. Mary runs and really stays in good shape.  Their house fits lots of people and they have recently hosted 2 large gatherings with many family members present.  Again a big help in a time we cannot do that.

Deb and I used to not understand how people could morn a pet.  This year our little dog, Spencer reached the end of a life that was lived in a way that brought lots of joy to our family.  Deb and Mieke and Aaron made the dreaded last car ride to the vet and we spent a sad day or two recalling the 14 years of him being an almost perfect dog.  Now we do understand as this was not easy for any of us. We have decided to not get another dog.  We do not think we could do better plus we are seeing that at our age it is nice to not have to worry about provisions when we travel or are away from home for long hours. We do miss him though, sleeping quietly on the floor. 

I want to close with a couple of wishes.  Of course there is the wish that medical events of late will result in healing and restore life as we used to think as normal.   It seems as though people that go through what Deb is now moving through somehow define a "new normal".  Another wish is that we can learn from all of this and in some way pass on the kindness that we have experienced from so many friends and relatives.  If you get sick I promise to not bring over a meal but I will figure out something nice to do for you. It means so much as we have learned firsthand.  We make a wish that you and your family experience a fine Holiday Season.  Finally we pray and wish that the "new normal" becomes something that our family can endure and understand in a way that holds us together and provides the strength and understanding that only God can give.

Merry Christmas from  Stan, Deb, Ross, Rumy, Alden, Mary, Aaron, Mieke and the ghost of Spencer past.