reflections, the day before christmas 2009


We are nearing the end of another year, and I won’t have to go into work for the rest of the decade. It seems only moments ago that everyone I know was sitting at work waiting for the new century and with it the flood of Y2K problems that never came. Was that really ten years ago? I can come up with another scary number describing how long it’s been since high school, which also represents the end of an era. We were the last group to ever graduate from South High.

There have been a number of doors opening even as these doors close. My eldest child has gotten her first job, an externship for the Pharmacy Tech college course she is taking through her high school. She graduates next spring. The next younger child is making good use of her learner’s permit, and will probably be ready for the real thing in a few months when that birthday comes around. I hope my wallet can keep up. Her twin sister recently extracted DNA from split peas in her Biology class. The older boy played his trumpet in a Christmas concert and did very well. The youngest is, little by little, starting to get involved in managing his diabetes. All of the kids are very intelligent and learning well.

This time of year is rich with milestones for us. Earlier in the month, one of the boys had his 14th birthday. Tonight, we visit family for Christmas Eve dinner. Tomorrow, the kids open their presents and we have a few friends and family over for Christmas dinner. My nine year wedding anniversary and 40th birthday are also coming in the next couple of weeks.

I love and appreciate my family. I don’t tell them this often enough, and what I do tell them probably gets lost in my grumpy outer shell. I’ve got five kids that are really a pretty good bunch. I can’t say enough about Kathy, who keeps the house functioning despite a continuous battle with her own body. Thank you, everyone.


4 responses to “reflections, the day before christmas 2009”

  1. Wonderful sentiments, Shawn. I’m so glad that you and your family are doing well and that your lives have been filled with these blessings. Know that Nick and I are truly blessed and grateful to count you and Kathy and your whole family as our friends. Hope many more doors open for you in the coming year!

  2. Remember to try to tell them more than you more often. In a few years the girls will be gone and the boys will be soon on their heels. You don’t have to say more that you show, the showing is most important. doing little things that mean a lot is more meaningful than words but words are necessary too. It was yesterday that I brought you home from the hospital, and today you have a 17 year old daughter. Time moves too fast to put off doing what you know you need and should do. I hope you are also appreciated and can have another productive decade.

  3. Shawn showed me this comment on Christmas Eve. I almost cried. This is more sentiment than I hear in months. My husband is not a talkative man. However his actions where I am concerned are always attentive and loving. I have no doubt that he loves me as much as I love him. I’m so grateful for the past nine years. And for the year before that. One day you and I were just having lunch as friends, and then (to paraphrase Paul Childs), I realized it was Shawn…and it had always been Shawn and I’ve never been more sure of anything.

    Thank you babe, for everything you are and what you try to be. I’m looking forward to many, many more years with you, my best friend and dearest love.

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