Christmas 2017- The Case of the Giggles

        

“My liege, and madam, to expostulate

What majesty should be, what duty is, Why day is day, night night, and time is time,

Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,

And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,

I will be brief.”

― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Now, let’s see if I can manage a “brief” Christmas letter as opposed to the mighty epistles I usually send at Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to you all!  We miss you, especially those of you who are in another state, or more than 3 hours away.  2 ½ hours away, not so much 😉. 

We are all well as far as I can tell.  Teenagers’ ability to answer this question is always brief, frustrating to the point that I must challenge them to use up to 5 words when I ask them, “how are you?”  That’s when I get, “uh, fine, what’s for dinner?”  I then answer, “uh, cereal.”  The kids are all growing quickly and I now must tip up my head to talk to two of them (Reed & Douglas). I don’t think they find me all that menacing any more. 

Current events/stats/facts/curiosities:

Reed is now 6’ tall and will be 16 next month! He does karate & track and enjoys keeping up with politics and current affairs, just like his dad.  His favorite color is orange.  I don’t know why, I think he was under pressure when I asked him, and that’s the first one that popped out of his mouth.  All I could say was, “Orange?! Why?” then he said, “I don’t know.”

Douglas is now 5’10” in his stockinged feet, and will also be 16 next month.  He does Karate, plays the trumpet and some other instruments, and has just started wrestling.  When he told me he wanted to start wrestling, all I could picture was the guy in my high school German class spitting in a cup all during class in order to meet some weight goal.  I said he could do it if he promised not to spit in a cup during his German class.  His favorite color is grey.  I told him that wasn’t considered a real color, but a color without color, still he refused to budge.

Isaac is 12 ½ and almost as tall as I am.  He, like his two older brothers, also does karate.  He, like most of his generation, would have a charging cord reminiscent of an umbilical cord attached to him, leading to his tablet; allowing constant charging via the power of body heat or heartbeat. Isaac is the goofiest kid in the family and has a really hard time resisting a joke or prank, to his sisters’ annoyance. Threats of confiscating his tablet helps to curb this tendency. His favorite color is dark purple, though last night he said it was puce, which is a shade of purple, but in my mind, will always be the color of a tick, ew.

Miriam is now 7 and is about 4’5” tall, and taller when she jumps around, which is often.  She is currently in a ballet class and is the tallest kid there. She can seem a big gangly next to the other girls, but I think she’ll grow into the art. Miriam’s favorite color is red (one of my favorites too).  It was pink, but I think she has chosen the non-conformist route, rather than fall into the expected pink and purple trap. She likes to read “chapter” books- this I believe she sees as a step closer to being a grown-up.

Elizabeth is also 7 and is about 4’3” tall.  She too is in ballet and doing well. She easily enters the magical role of a dancing princess.  She is a funny girl and thinks in such an entertaining and unique way. Her favorite colors are pink and purple--some girls cannot resist the tug. She loves “meat” sandwiches with mustard, mayo (NOT Miracle Whip!), lettuce, and cheese.  She made me one, and wow, such skill!  She is a morning person and will pop right up and continue the conversation that sleep had forced her to abandon the night before (FYI, her sister is NOT a morning person).

Chris and I are pretty much the same, “From now on I’m going to try to be the same…The same as what?...The same as people who aren’t different.” -What’s Up Doc.  Give us a call if you want more info on us 😊.

Well, in this letter, “brief” means that I kept this to one page.  Again, have a Merry Christmas, full of charity and love toward all!                         Love, The Williams Family