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December 6th, 2006
Dearest friends, family, in-laws, out-laws, and that one person on our Christmas list that no one remembers but we keep forgetting to remove;
The Ohio branch of the Carter Clan continued to prosper in the past year, or at least the government seems to feel that way when it comes to taxes and college financial aid, assuming that since we have managed to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table that we are rolling in the dough and laughing all the way to the bank. It amazes me to see the annual figures on all the spare money sitting around the house, but perhaps I only need to get my eyes checked so that perhaps I can see a wee bit of it for once.
The biggest event for the family as a whole was a trip to Chicago this summer to attend the national tour of “Spamalot”, the hit musical based on Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Everyone enjoyed the weekend, and the abuse from the waiter at the famed Ed Debevic’s Restaurant was all that we had heard it would be.
Diane and I have continued to attend the seminars that we started last December, unfortunately we were not able to graduate with those we started with because we missed one in July, which we will make up in May. This has been a wonderful voyage of self discovery, and we believe has truly helped the dynamics and relationships within the family. For this opportunity we are truly grateful.
I continue to work at Reynolds and Reynolds, though the company is currently in the process of re-defining itself, after having merged with competitor UCS, based in Houston, and becoming a private corporation. Right now I’m simply along for the ride, waiting to see how things will end up, but it definitely makes for interesting times. One of the highlights of my year was when I took third place in the NACORD National Confrontation Championship held at GenCon in Indianapolis in August. Not only did I win a bronze medal and some figures, but I also earned the admission tickets to GenCon free for the boys and me by building the terrain used for the tournament. In addition, I have lost over 30 pounds so far this year on Weight Watchers.
Diane continues to be a realtor, and has managed to double her sales since last year, even in a very weak housing market in the Dayton area. She earned both a Gold level sales award, as well as a Diamond award for achieving a perfect 100% customer satisfaction rating throughout the year. She has also continued in her volunteering, specifically volunteering me to be the treasurer of the Band Boosters, while she has taken on the role of corresponding secretary sending out the monthly newsletter. She has lost almost 20 pounds also doing Weight Watchers with me, but seems to want to sabotage me more often because of the fact men just lose weight faster than women.
Becky is now a senior at St. Kate’s in St. Paul, Minnesota, studying American Sign Language (and no, when deaf people get drunk their hands don’t slur (that’s not funny at all apparently)), and expects to graduate in the spring of 2008. She has started working part time as a Nanny as well for a pair of two year old twin girls, and is really enjoying this job. She is still with Ryan, who is now a police officer for Oakdale, MN, and she even gets to ride along with him occasionally.
Jon graduated this past spring from West Carrollton High School, and had a very productive summer, at least in the area of sleep. He is now a freshman at Bowling Green State University in the education program, though he anticipates changing his major next year. He is enrolled in a nationally acclaimed learning community, “Partners in Context and Community”, and spends every Monday in an actual elementary school in Toledo. We are still hoping he gets the idea that having a job is actually a good thing, and finds one soon.
Katlyn is still enrolled at Cross Creek Manor in the thriving metropolis of La Verkin, Utah. Diane and I have had the opportunity to visit her twice this year, once in April and the second time in October. Unfortunately, she is still fighting the program more than working it, and after fifteen months there she is still at a level 1. We talk to her every other week with Garth, her therapist, and alternate weeks we speak with Kathy, the family representative. All we can do is continue to work our own program toward making a whole and healthy family, and wait until she decides to begin working herself.
Erik is a freshman in West Carrollton High School, where the highlight for him is the marching band. He greatly enjoys being one of the ‘bones, having had a great time in his first year at band camp. In addition, all the marching has helped him to begin to trim down as well, though never as quickly as he would like. He continues to be a straight "A" student, and enjoys school though he rarely finds it challenging.
Matthew is still in Boy Scouts, and recently not only received his First Class rank, but was elected to be the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for this troop for the coming year. He is quite excited about this, and has even recruited a couple of his friends to join the troop with him. He is in seventh grade at West Carrollton Middle School, and doing well.
Finally, Scout continues to rule the house, striving quite hard to increase his productivity and sleep twenty hours a day. He is a good dog however, and quite the protector of the yard, having caught two rabbits and a woodchuck this summer, defending his family from this horrid varmint invasion.
The entire family is looking forward to having Grandma and Grandpa Carter here for Christmas, as this will be the first time in eighteen years that we have been able to spend Christmas together, and will be my chance to really prove at Christmas dinner that “this bird is definitely juicier than last year!” We plan to top off the year by meeting up with Margaret, Jim, Joseph and Meg, the New Jersey clan, just before the end of the year in Pittsburgh.
As the holiday season is once more upon us, we wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, and a joyous and prosperous New Year. To mix a few of my favorite Irish blessings, May the road rise up to meet you, the sun always be at your back, and may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows your dead.
Mike, Diane, Becky, Jon, Katlyn, Erik, Matthew and Scout
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