My First-Ever Christmas Letter!

To friends, family, and fallible readers,

“So you’re having second thoughts already?”

Our darling daughter Carrie, now age 25, couldn’t resist poking fun at me.

“Carrie, I have second thoughts about getting out of bed in the morning.”

“We all do that, Mom. But you made it seem to us kids like skipping college wasn’t an option. And now you’ve signed up, and you’re considering dropping?”

Darned if these adult kids of ours don’t have a lot of good points these days. This year has proven that in spades.

In January, our youngest son, Kevin, soon to be 23, came home from Switzerland for a ten-day visit. If you remember, he studied Hospitality Management and Business Administration in Montreux for ten months, finishing a Bachelor’s degree he started here in Kansas City.

It was almost great having him home. Would have been wonderful, really, if not for the whole jail thing. And then having to hire the high-dollar lawyer to push the case through the court system so that Kevin would be free to leave not only the state, but the country. If I remember right, he got picked up for expired plates the second night he was in town. (The stickers for the plates were in his glove box, where I’d placed them when I renewed the plates, but I’d forgotten to tell him that little detail. He also did not know that I had put his current proof of insurance in the same convenient spot.) But when the cops checked his ID, they saw there was a warrant out for his arrest, one that had just been issued the day before. Before he went to Switzerland, while working at a local hotel, he’d accidentally sold ciggies to a minor. I wonder how much minors get paid these days to be a part of a federal sting operation?

So they towed his car, I guess. It’s hard to recall things that happened nearly a year ago, especially when you try to put the grisly details out of your mind. They hauled him first to a local podunk jail, from which he used his one phone call to contact his dad, and then extradited him to the county prison.
The highlight of the evening was when Doug and Kevin held their hands up on opposite sides of the grimy glass, palm-to-palm. The low point was when Doug wrote the big, fat check.

The year improved dramatically after that. Our 28-year-old son, Scott, had his first book published. The title, Ajax On Rails, has nothing to do with fastidious cleaning junkies using abrasive powders to scrub railroad tracks. I’ve tried to read it, but—perhaps because of my propensity for postponing my college education—I don’t seem to have sufficient numbers of firing neurons to grasp the gist of it. It’s absolutely brilliant and I believe it rose to Number One on Amazon for a period lasting several seconds. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong…)

We hosted a book-signing party for Scott after Kevin’s unfortunate incarceration. Sometime during the evening, a guest pointed out the book’s lovely dedication, in which Scott had the wisdom and foresight to mention not only his beautiful wife, Brooke, but also both his parents by name. Even if that’s the only part of Ajax On Rails I ever understand, it worked for me.

A bunch of other stuff happened after that. A lot of it had to do with Carrie’s upcoming wedding, which occurred in June. Maybe a bunch of stuff didn’t happen, I don’t know. It could be that I had long, laborious lists of stuff that should be happening—if the bride and her family were doing things according to the schedule presented in Bride’s magazine—but which didn’t actually happen until approximately three hours before the guests showed up.

OK, that’s not fair. Carrie, who lived with us for nearly a year before her wedding, created the most darling of wall charts on a huge piece of poster board, which she attached to the back of her bedroom door with the kind of Scotch tape that doesn’t ever come off. I used to go up there and use the treadmill and obsess over that chart with its thousands of little squares meant to hold thousands of little check-marks of accomplishment, but were there any check-marks?

Carrie is now into her second year teaching special ed kids in the inner city. But at the time the wall-chart was drawn, she was furiously busy with her challenging career, her new Master’s degree program, her long-distance engagement to Marc, attempting to live with her parents after many years on her own, and planning a wedding. I was only busy worried about the missing check marks.

Kevin’s graduation in Switzerland was to occur two weeks before Carrie and Marc’s wedding, and honestly, we couldn’t afford to go. Besides, I’d be too nervous leaving the country with all those squares unchecked, you know what I mean? So we went. Made the decision almost at the very last minute, and I’m so glad we did. It was a whirlwind six-day trip, during which Doug and I took a panoramic train from Luzern all the way down to Montreux.

There’s nothing better for an evil case of jet lag than a nice train ride. We even drank coffee in the diner car! By the time we reached Kevin, we were coffeed up and ready to roll.

By the time the three of us got home again to Kansas City, Carrie had moved out and into her honeymoon apartment. She’d left the upstairs clean, so that Kevin could move directly in. We gave him two months to find some roommates and a job. He took an extra two weeks, which ain’t bad, huh?

We scrambled to finish all the wedding stuff, including plans to use both an inside room and the rooftop of the downtown Kansas City Library (formerly the historic First National Bank Building) for Carrie and Marc’s reception. At the eleventh hour, our new meteorologist son-in-law (everyone should have one!) agreed with us that we needed to move the whole affair indoors. The forecast was too iffy to take a chance on dancing on the roof, unless we wanted to spring for some of those attendants who hold umbrellas over individual couples.

You may be wondering about The Moms. They are both hanging on. Writing about them in a Christmas letter, though, would necessarily involve descriptions of falls and cognitive lapses and hazardous waste materials that would engage more of your senses than you probably want to devote at this time. Trust me on this.

Doug has begun recording some of the fantastic music he’s written over the years (some tunes his own children have never heard!), using ProTools software on the Mac. I’m so excited for him to work on this project in earnest. Maybe someday soon, fallible readers will have a chance to win a copy of Doug’s CD!

Doug and I are settling into the Empty Nesting thing for what seems like the last time. The doors have stopped spinning for the first season in many years. It’s a sad and happy feeling, the very essence of bittersweet. It’s a good thing we’re not only crazy, but crazy about each other.

And I am second guessing my life. But, for me, that’s what Advent is all about. It’s like a month-long mircrocosm of an entire lifetime of searching, seeking, questioning, and yearning.

This has been a tremendously busy and fulfilling year for the Raymond family. I could tell you some true tall tales you wouldn’t believe, but in the days leading up to Christmas, all the fairy tales and fish stories in the world can’t hold a candle to the Truth lying in a manger.

May the most wonderful true tall tale ever told still your hearts like snow falling in an open field. And may you never second guess His amazing love.

Posted by Katy on 12/22/07 at 09:34 AM

Fallible Comments...

Love this! Merry Christmas!
Posted by Suzan on 12/22/07 at 12:31 PM
Great letter, Katy! Have a wonderful Christmas.
Posted by Carrie K. on 12/22/07 at 01:17 PM
Amen and Amen, darlin'. May your season hold a full nest for a while, peace, and relaxation. Merry Christmas!
Posted by PattyT on 12/23/07 at 02:43 AM
Katy,

I've spent been much of the past week...okay, month of two, reflecting on the last 12-14 months.
From teen suicides, funerals, con-men and mission trips (don't worry that thank you note to you and Doug is on my "to do" list...right above "make the children less self-absorbed" so it still has a chance).

Uh,lest that be misunderstood the thank you note is for Katy and Doug's generosity toward our mission trip.

It's been a rocky year...we've been in valley and atop peaks.

Most of all we've been blessed.

We feel honored to count you & Doug among those blessings.

Your nest will never be empty, because your hearts are full.

That to me is the true definition of "Peace on earth."

Peaceful hearts.

Have a glorious Christmas and we look forward to sharing our journeys (the ups & downs) in the year to come.

We wish you blessed perspective when you need it, and a continued sense of humor when you can't muster it.

Grace & peace,

Michael & Amy
Posted by Michael Main on 12/23/07 at 05:40 PM
Okay...I couldn't read past "use the treadmill". Really?!?! LOL. :) Love to you always.
Posted by Bridget on 12/24/07 at 12:14 PM
Wow...it has indeed been quite the year! Here's hoping you have the merriest Christmas and a happy, healthy 2008!
Posted by Jennifer on 12/25/07 at 10:48 AM
Katy, bless you for your service to the WORLD writing fallible blog posts! Your Christmas letter so brightened my day. You're such an awesome writer. I love how you use that gift.
Posted by Cynthia Ruchti on 12/26/07 at 05:10 PM
Hey Katy!

I'm just now discovering that when I set your blog to "My Favorites" after the ACFW Conference, it set it for the page that took me to that particular post! So for three months I've been checking back and thinking you hadn't changed it--wondering if you were ok or if you had fallen off the face of the earth! I'm glad I've realized my mistake and glad to catch up a little on your life this past year. I look forward to checking in on you more often now!
Posted by D'Ann on 12/26/07 at 05:20 PM
If you plan to Car Rental in Antalya, Dalaman, Izmir, Bodrum, Istanbul, Ankara, Marmaris, Fethiye, Didim we can provide you easy and relaxing car hire with our friendly staff, new and well maintained vehicles at affordable rates, by being most efficient car rental company in Turkey
Der Vermieter ist in den größten türkischen Städten vertreten. Die angebotenen Fahrzeuge gehen von Kleinwagen bis Minivans.
http://www.antalyarentacar.com
Posted by Rent a Car Car Hire Antalya Dalaman on 02/19/08 at 07:46 AM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	My First-Ever Christmas Letter! To friends, family, and fallible readers, “So you’re having second thoughts already?” Our darling daughter Carrie, now age 25, couldn’t resist poking fun at me. “Carrie, I have second thoughts about getting out of bed in the morning.” “We all do that, Mom. But you made it seem to us kids like skipping college wasn’t an option. And now you’ve signed up, and you’re considering dropping?” Darned if these adult kids of ours don’t have a lot of good points these days. This year has proven that in spades. In January, our youngest son, Kevin, soon to be 23, came home from Switzerland for a ten-day visit. If you remember, he studied Hospitality Management and Business Administration in Montreux for ten months, finishing a Bachelor’s degree he started here in Kansas City. It was almost great having him home. Would have been wonderful, really, if not for the whole jail thing. And then having to hire the high-dollar lawyer to push the case through the court system so that Kevin would be free to leave not only the state, but the country. If I remember right, he got picked up for expired plates the second night he was in town. (The stickers for the plates were in his glove box, where I’d placed them when I renewed the plates, but I’d forgotten to tell him that little detail. He also did not know that I had put his current proof of insurance in the same convenient spot.) But when the cops checked his ID, they saw there was a warrant out for his arrest, one that had just been issued the day before. Before he went to Switzerland, while working at a local hotel, he’d accidentally sold ciggies to a minor. I wonder how much minors get paid these days to be a part of a federal sting operation? So they towed his car, I guess. It’s hard to recall things that happened nearly a year ago, especially when you try to put the grisly details out of your mind. They hauled him first to a local podunk jail, from which he used his one phone call to contact his dad, and then extradited him to the county prison. The highlight of the evening was when Doug and Kevin held their hands up on opposite sides of the grimy glass, palm-to-palm. The low point was when Doug wrote the big, fat check. The year improved dramatically after that. Our 28-year-old son, Scott, had his first book published. The title, Ajax On Rails, has nothing to do with fastidious cleaning junkies using abrasive powders to scrub railroad tracks. I’ve tried to read it, but—perhaps because of my propensity for postponing my college education—I don’t seem to have sufficient numbers of firing neurons to grasp the gist of it. It’s absolutely brilliant and I believe it rose to Number One on Amazon for a period lasting several seconds. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong…) We hosted a book-signing party for Scott after Kevin’s unfortunate incarceration. Sometime during the evening, a guest pointed out the book’s lovely dedication, in which Scott had the wisdom and foresight to mention not only his beautiful wife, Brooke, but also both his parents by name. Even if that’s the only part of Ajax On Rails I ever understand, it worked for me. A bunch of other stuff happened after that. A lot of it had to do with Carrie’s upcoming wedding, which occurred in June. Maybe a bunch of stuff didn’t happen, I don’t know. It could be that I had long, laborious lists of stuff that should be happening—if the bride and her family were doing things according to the schedule presented in Bride’s magazine—but which didn’t actually happen until approximately three hours before the guests showed up. OK, that’s not fair. Carrie, who lived with us for nearly a year before her wedding, created the most darling of wall charts on a huge piece of poster board, which she attached to the back of her bedroom door with the kind of Scotch tape that doesn’t ever come off. I used to go up there and use the treadmill and obsess over that chart with its thousands of little squares meant to hold thousands of little check-marks of accomplishment, but were there any check-marks? Carrie is now into her second year teaching special ed kids in the inner city. But at the time the wall-chart was drawn, she was furiously busy with her challenging career, her new Master’s degree program, her long-distance engagement to Marc, attempting to live with her parents after many years on her own, and planning a wedding. I was only busy worried about the missing check marks. Kevin’s graduation in Switzerland was to occur two weeks before Carrie and Marc’s wedding, and honestly, we couldn’t afford to go. Besides, I’d be too nervous leaving the country with all those squares unchecked, you know what I mean? So we went. Made the decision almost at the very last minute, and I’m so glad we did. It was a whirlwind six-day trip, during which Doug and I took a panoramic train from Luzern all the way down to Montreux. There’s nothing better for an evil case of jet lag than a nice train ride. We even drank coffee in the diner car! By the time we reached Kevin, we were coffeed up and ready to roll. By the time the three of us got home again to Kansas City, Carrie had moved out and into her honeymoon apartment. She’d left the upstairs clean, so that Kevin could move directly in. We gave him two months to find some roommates and a job. He took an extra two weeks, which ain’t bad, huh? We scrambled to finish all the wedding stuff, including plans to use both an inside room and the rooftop of the downtown Kansas City Library (formerly the historic First National Bank Building) for Carrie and Marc’s reception. At the eleventh hour, our new meteorologist son-in-law (everyone should have one!) agreed with us that we needed to move the whole affair indoors. The forecast was too iffy to take a chance on dancing on the roof, unless we wanted to spring for some of those attendants who hold umbrellas over individual couples. You may be wondering about The Moms. They are both hanging on. Writing about them in a Christmas letter, though, would necessarily involve descriptions of falls and cognitive lapses and hazardous waste materials that would engage more of your senses than you probably want to devote at this time. Trust me on this. Doug has begun recording some of the fantastic music he’s written over the years (some tunes his own children have never heard!), using ProTools software on the Mac. I’m so excited for him to work on this project in earnest. Maybe someday soon, fallible readers will have a chance to win a copy of Doug’s CD! Doug and I are settling into the Empty Nesting thing for what seems like the last time. The doors have stopped spinning for the first season in many years. It’s a sad and happy feeling, the very essence of bittersweet. It’s a good thing we’re not only crazy, but crazy about each other. And I am second guessing my life. But, for me, that’s what Advent is all about. It’s like a month-long mircrocosm of an entire lifetime of searching, seeking, questioning, and yearning. This has been a tremendously busy and fulfilling year for the Raymond family. I could tell you some true tall tales you wouldn’t believe, but in the days leading up to Christmas, all the fairy tales and fish stories in the world can’t hold a candle to the Truth lying in a manger. May the most wonderful true tall tale ever told still your hearts like snow falling in an open field. And may you never second guess His amazing love. Posted by Katy on 12/22/07 at 09:34 AM Fallible Comments... Love this! Merry Christmas! Posted by Suzan on 12/22/07 at 12:31 PM Great letter, Katy! Have a wonderful Christmas. Posted by Carrie K. on 12/22/07 at 01:17 PM Amen and Amen, darlin'. May your season hold a full nest for a while, peace, and relaxation. Merry Christmas! Posted by PattyT on 12/23/07 at 02:43 AM Katy, I've spent been much of the past week...okay, month of two, reflecting on the last 12-14 months. From teen suicides, funerals, con-men and mission trips (don't worry that thank you note to you and Doug is on my "to do" list...right above "make the children less self-absorbed" so it still has a chance). Uh,lest that be misunderstood the thank you note is for Katy and Doug's generosity toward our mission trip. It's been a rocky year...we've been in valley and atop peaks. Most of all we've been blessed. We feel honored to count you & Doug among those blessings. Your nest will never be empty, because your hearts are full. That to me is the true definition of "Peace on earth." Peaceful hearts. Have a glorious Christmas and we look forward to sharing our journeys (the ups & downs) in the year to come. We wish you blessed perspective when you need it, and a continued sense of humor when you can't muster it. Grace & peace, Michael & Amy Posted by Michael Main on 12/23/07 at 05:40 PM Okay...I couldn't read past "use the treadmill". Really?!?! LOL. :) Love to you always. Posted by Bridget on 12/24/07 at 12:14 PM Wow...it has indeed been quite the year! Here's hoping you have the merriest Christmas and a happy, healthy 2008! Posted by Jennifer on 12/25/07 at 10:48 AM Katy, bless you for your service to the WORLD writing fallible blog posts! Your Christmas letter so brightened my day. You're such an awesome writer. I love how you use that gift. Posted by Cynthia Ruchti on 12/26/07 at 05:10 PM Hey Katy! I'm just now discovering that when I set your blog to "My Favorites" after the ACFW Conference, it set it for the page that took me to that particular post! So for three months I've been checking back and thinking you hadn't changed it--wondering if you were ok or if you had fallen off the face of the earth! I'm glad I've realized my mistake and glad to catch up a little on your life this past year. I look forward to checking in on you more often now! Posted by D'Ann on 12/26/07 at 05:20 PM If you plan to Car Rental in Antalya, Dalaman, Izmir, Bodrum, Istanbul, Ankara, Marmaris, Fethiye, Didim we can provide you easy and relaxing car hire with our friendly staff, new and well maintained vehicles at affordable rates, by being most efficient car rental company in Turkey Der Vermieter ist in den größten türkischen Städten vertreten. Die angebotenen Fahrzeuge gehen von Kleinwagen bis Minivans. http://www.antalyarentacar.com Posted by Rent a Car Car Hire Antalya Dalaman on 02/19/08 at 07:46 AM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: Some Stuff I'll Never Want For Christmas Previous entry: Christmas Cop-Outs << Back to main


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My First-Ever Christmas Letter!

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri