Merry Christmas friends! I am so grateful for another year of happiness and health and all of the other mundane things that we take for granted all too often! Nothing in my (or James’) lives has been so devastatingly horrible or overwhelmingly exciting that it was worth writing about. (Although our first trip to Disney in March came close to the exciting part!). I cannot say the same however, about the year that our 11-year-old son Alex has had.
This year has been one of extreme highs and lows for our oldest son. Recently, Alex experienced the death of his good friend Shane who was also 11 years old. We have been so proud (and indeed humbled by) Alex throughout this entire life changing event. He attended Shane’s visitation and was asked to serve at the funeral mass which he did without complaint. The sudden death of his friend came as a complete shock to every parent and child in our little Catholic school family. It was (and continues to be) a time of deep sadness and premature “coming of age” as we witness him having to deal with the unimaginable loss of an 11 year old peer. Things around our house were very sad. We worried about his disposition and hoped that it would not be soured by such a grim reality. And then…….
Last April Alex began watching the St. Louis Cardinals on t.v. as he took a sudden and serious interest in baseball. (NOT PLAYING mind you, but watching). He watched every single game that was televised all summer long and could tell you to the minute where the Cardinals were in the standings. He took his new obsession so far as to even ask to come in from boating in Arkansas so he could watch the crawl on ESPN. He LIVED for Cardinal baseball. As the fall approached he knew the team would not make the playoffs. They were, afterall, 10 1/2 games out of the wild card spot. Then the unbelievable happened. Around the time of Shane’s death, the Cardinals started to WIN and I mean WIN EVERYTHING. There were many days when I thanked God for the Cardinals’ winning streak because I watched it keep the child-like hope alive inside our son. Alex and I drove to Busch stadium and watched game one of the World Series together. The Cardinals won their 11th World Series Title in 2011 when our son was 11 years old. This happened just after Alex had to say good bye to his dear little friend. It was as if God (or Shane?) was sending Alex a wink to say that life for an 11 year old little boy should be filled with magic and wonder and not sadness and loss. Thank you St. Louis Cardinals, your timing was perfect!
In between keeping up with Alex’s emotional year, we had Adam to contend with. Adam is 7 years old and is the living definition of the word inquisitive. In January, James and I started to keep track of the questions that Adam asked us throughout the year specifically so we could share them in this letter. Over the past 12 months, Adam has asked us the following questions, often while driving in the car or sharing a quiet moment before bed. Tell me, what would YOU do with some of these questions?!?
What is sharper, a shark’s tooth or a sword?
How can we talk in our head?
Is it still a car if it has 6 wheels?
Can you move with only three tires?
Which is faster, God or water?
When was water invented?
Do fish have noses?
Can fish smell oxygen?
Why is oxygen clear?
If you could breathe but there wasn’t anything TO breathe, what would happen?
If I lived in Arizona, would a cactus pop my balloon?
Can a mountain lion catch my balloon?
Do fans grab air and throw it?
Would we die if it was 175 degrees outside?
Do we live down town or up town?
If a squirrel bit a turkey and we ate the turkey would we get sick?
Will you die if you swallow a key?
Who is God’s wife if Jesus was his son?
If you broke a vein in your arm, would you die?
Can you swallow wind?
Which came first, colors or water?
Why do your eyes water when you yawn?
And my personal favorite Adam-ism of the year is this:
A few months back I received an e-mail from Adam’s 2nd grade teacher. He was assigned to read an introduction for the reading at mass that week and she (the teacher) wanted to tell me how he was progressing. She told me that he was doing a good job with his reading BUT if I could stress that the patron Saint of the day was St. Sebastian and NOT St. subtraction, he would have it down cold.
We are grateful for laughter, the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals and our children. We are happy. We are healthy and we are BLESSED this holiday season!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
James, Melissa, Alex and Adam
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