I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and shared wonderful time with people you love. Here is this year's Christmas letter, dropped at the post office just in the nick of time on Saturday, after issues of printer ink depletion and clerical incompetence resulted in wasted stationery and in ugly photocopies and family members receiving the copies that were upside down on the stationery. (Note to Will: Get next year's letter composed and submitted to the editor (me) by December 1, 2013.) Yes, Will really does write this annual tome. I merely edit, meaning I add a few commas, correct a few factual errors and allow others to remain if they make me laugh. Possibly I also delete some of the things I don't like and occasionally I may improve the wording just a bit. (My own comments are added in a different font.)
Dear Friends and Family:
Not
much is new around here, just the same old camping, fishing, sight-seeing,
photography,
hiking, video, boats, tents,
trailers, Traegers, Salmon, Steelhead, flowers, rivers, family, friends –
you get the idea. I was ordered to compose a
one-page letter this year. (Fail.)
Let’s
start with some of my highlights and end with LeAnn’s. The fish catching was
not as good this year, but the technique was much more polished. Fishing for Springers (Chinook Salmon) on the
Willamette up in the Portland area was fun but very cold and wet. About that time, I was feeling that it would
never stop raining. Rivers of water
running past the house in the morning necessitated rain pants and rubber boots
just to go out and get that dog walked.
Water across the road, wet dog smell, and “will it ever stop raining?”
flavored all that was done and said in my small world. Finally a fishing trip, then more rain. It seemed like I would never get completely
dry.
I became
accustomed to the smell of a wet dog. It
helps to breath deeply through your nose; after the first few light-headed
minutes you don’t notice the smell.
LeAnn, however, is able to smell a wet dog from as far away as her desk
at work. Poor Zeek.
The
rain finally stopped for the camping season. After putting up with me through
the spring, LeAnn advised me we would take the trailer over to a wedding in
Ontario and perhaps she would ride home with friends while I camped on my own
for a while. She is a very smart girl,
knowing that I am far easier to get along with when I am not along with. After the wedding, I continued east, spending
some time in Central Idaho visiting my sister and cousin, then returned to
Oregon by way of Oxbow with several days over 100 degrees on the Snake River
where I grew up. Next, off to the Metolius River for over two weeks, where LeAnn
joined me. We enjoyed almost daily hikes
in the surrounding area, family coming
and going, and a good bit of time watching the river go by. Zeek didn’t seem to smell so bad and he was
genuinely happy to see LeAnn when she joined us. I too had grown to miss her a lot during this
exile. I have been keeping a log of
every night in the trailer since purchasing it in May 2008, which totals over
380 days. I think we are getting our
money’s worth. Zeek continues to be a
great camping partner.
After
all that camping, it was off to a family reunion/oyster pig-out/40th
anniversary party for LeAnn’s oldest brother Galen and wife Carol at a rural
setting near Logsden. Many pictures were
taken and lots of small girls tried to
talk to me. Some of the pictures were in focus and none of the little girl
voices were heard by me. LeAnn has the
skills to be a very good Aunt, well supplied with gum and hugs. About all I have to offer is the retrieval
services of a dog that never met a person he didn’t like. If I could have heard any of the little girls,
I think maybe the only thing they said was, “Can I play with the dog?” I did learn one thing about little
girls. If one is afraid of a dog, teach
her to command the dog to sit. With that
ability, she will turn into a power hungry monster that wants only to force
your dog to sit every time she sees him.
Poor Zeek, if he weren’t a dog he would make a good husband. “Sit, Zeek.”
“Yes dear,” I hear him say. At least I think it’s him saying it. Sometimes what Zeek is doing and what I am
thinking get a little confused.
LeAnn
informed all the immediate family early this year that her birthday on 12-12-12
was going to be a big deal. Normally I
approach her birthday day with a mixture of fear, happiness and
trepidation. After hearing this
proclamation, all my usual emotions were multiplied exponentially. All good husbands know (and I am trying to
learn) that there are many places you can screw up, and birthdays and
anniversaries are especially fraught with peril. So when LeAnn let me know she was planning the
party, I was so relieved that she easily made the last few maneuvers finalizing
the trip to Hawaii. Yep I am in complete
control of this house.
I
thought for a little while I had gotten the best of her. With gentle prodding,
LeAnn agreed to watch Zeek while I went elk hunting for a week in
November. Yep, LeAnn the non-lover of
dogs was going to spend over a week taking care of a 100-pound often-wet
Chocolate Lab that poops at least twice a day.
It was a short lived triumph after I learned that the payment in lieu of
this miracle was a get-whatever-you-want shopping trip to the most expensive clothing
stores in the entire Northwest in the company of a girlfriend with expensive
(but excellent!) taste. (Oh brother! We got
BARGAINS!)
Of
course, things went well with Zeek. He is such a well-trained dog with few bad
habits, but LeAnn’s dark side sometimes emerges when you least expect it. With my guard down on the trip home, I sat
with my hunting partners eating breakfast in Enterprise, Oregon when I saw that
she had struck. It was a time bomb
placed on Facebook: photographs of my loyal dog dressed in a sweater and PINK
scarf. The horror of it all nearly
finished me. Alone and unable to defend
himself, he fell prey to the twisted manipulations of LeAnn. I had nearly recovered by the time I went to
the dentist a month later, but suffered a severe setback when confronted with a
shocking slide show of the Zeek scarf pictures on the flat screen in the
examining room. On the positive side, LeAnn and Zeek have now solidified a
special bond that is hard to describe. Nick
will take care of Zeek when we go to Hawaii in January to celebrate our 30th
anniversary. LeAnn is going with me to Hawaii.
It could be a long time before I leave her alone with my dog again.
The
birthday celebration was great and enjoyed by all. The first day was our immediate
family for an excellent dinner cooked by Craig on the 11th. The second was her extended family birthday
on the great day of 12-12-12, where the love and generosity of 22 family members
fulfilled her plans for a very special day.
Nick
works for Coastal Farm in their corporate office here in Albany as an IT
specialist. He travels in Oregon and
Washington when need arises and spends a fair amount of time on call. This job suits him and his computer skills
keep getting sharper. The problem is, his
advice is costing me money. “Hey you
should get this or that” turns into “Now you really need one of these. “
Eric
is enjoying working at a Verizon Store.
His appearance has changed drastically, as he now wears a tie at work,
makes sure his shoes are polished, regularly gets haircuts and keeps the beard
neatly trimmed. If you haven’t seen him
in a while, you might not recognize him. His mother loves it.
Craig
and Stephanie work together at a business in Tangent and share an apartment
with Nick. For brothers who used to
fight a lot, it’s amazing how friendly they are now. They all come home for a
big dinner on Sundays, and the house is loud for a few hours until they depart
and it settles back into the quiet empty nest it has become. Quiet, yes, but
never boring.
LeAnn
continues working in the Memorial Middle School office. She loves her coworkers
and has mentioned several times lately that her job would be perfect if it
wasn’t for all the stupid paperwork. Still forcing me to go on hikes whenever she
can, she is excellent company and is looking and feeling great as she maintains
her weight loss with regular running and exercise classes. LeAnn was recently
published in the local paper with a story and photo she submitted about some
bears we encountered in Canada. If you
are familiar with her blog you know the story.
If you are not familiar with her blog, well, it’s your loss. There is some great stuff in that thing and
it will fill in the blanks nicely if you are not close enough to hear the
stories first hand. http://wlenmusings.blogspot.com
Um, Will, that’s kind of an abrupt ending. Are you really going
to stop there? Aren’t you going to tell them about your blog, http://willsententia.wordpress.com (in which you really
should write more often)? Or how much we enjoyed the Central Oregon reunion of
your retired Albany police co-workers from your rookie days? The stories were
pretty entertaining when you guys weren’t talking about your hearing aids and
medications. And what about…oh never mind, you were supposed to keep it short.
We are so blessed with health, family,
friends, love, the beautiful world we live in, and the joy that comes from
trusting the Creator of the Universe. May your life also overflow with these
blessings and many more through the upcoming holidays and in the coming year!
Love,
Will and LeAnn
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