Tuesday, December 28, 2010
3:04 PM | Posted by
Unknown
Each year I am sure you have all received those beautifully done Christmas cards with family letters attached extolling the accomplishments and virtues of each family member. This is done with the best of intentions, and is designed to show how grateful they are for the blessings of God in their lives, especially as it relates to their perfect, trouble-free children. This is a tongue-in-cheek response to all those who can't send such letters because they are just happy their children are alive and still talking to their parents.
To all our Friends and Relatives,
Merry Christmas! Wow, what a roller coaster this year has been. So many things have happened to our busy family it is hard to know where to start. Let's start with the youngest of the family this time and work our way up, shall we?
Jessie is now 12 and enjoying his first year in Jr. High. He has managed to get on the track team this year, thanks to the bullies who kept chasing him home each day. All that running has helped him lose those last 35 pounds he gained when he started puberty. He looks great! I'm sure the bruising from his last after school pounding will be gone in the next week or so.
Mildred is in this year's school play. She was hoping for the lead, but got something better. She has been chosen to the clapping leader in the audience. Her drama teacher says that for those of her unique talent this is even better than lead. She couldn't be happier. She is doing well in school, having gotten her grades up to a C after much late night tutoring. Her reading is really progressing as well. She is now working on her 4th grade primer. By the end of 11th grade we might even have her up to the 6th grade reading level. We are just beaming over her progress.
Marge is 17 and was finally able to get the father of her two children to agree to marry her. They have been living in our spare bedroom for the last two years. As much as we love having those little darlings of hers around, it will be wonderful for them to have a father in their midst. You know grandpa, he just can't keep up with the little ones like he used to. We hear that Jed will be moving his fledgling family into a studio apartment on the other side of the valley in a couple of months. They just need to find a Justice of the Peace and do all the legalities the state requires for the marriage. At least he won't have to go through adoption proceedings to become their father.
Justin, our oldest will be on parole in a month. This is great news because it means his prison term is being cut in half. We couldn't be more pleased with his progress. Why in just the last year he has gotten out of solitary, been through a rehab program, finished the first year of a college program, and started counseling for anger management. What more could we ask for? We look forward to having him in a halfway house close by so we can have a decent visit. Those prison visits are just downers.
Lastly, Horton and I have been so blessed this year. Horton has found work after being unemployed for six years. He has gotten his Church membership reinstated, and is finishing up his addiction therapy. I have been able to cut my anti-depression meds in half during the last year because of all the good things that have been happening in the family. We are so grateful to the Lord that our children love us, and we hope they honestly know how much we love them. Trials make us stronger, so we anticipate becoming one of the strongest families in the Church this year. May the good Lord bless you and guide you with the same care and tenderness He has shown us this last year.
Sincerely,
Peggy and Horton Toxweed
To all our Friends and Relatives,
Merry Christmas! Wow, what a roller coaster this year has been. So many things have happened to our busy family it is hard to know where to start. Let's start with the youngest of the family this time and work our way up, shall we?
Jessie is now 12 and enjoying his first year in Jr. High. He has managed to get on the track team this year, thanks to the bullies who kept chasing him home each day. All that running has helped him lose those last 35 pounds he gained when he started puberty. He looks great! I'm sure the bruising from his last after school pounding will be gone in the next week or so.
Mildred is in this year's school play. She was hoping for the lead, but got something better. She has been chosen to the clapping leader in the audience. Her drama teacher says that for those of her unique talent this is even better than lead. She couldn't be happier. She is doing well in school, having gotten her grades up to a C after much late night tutoring. Her reading is really progressing as well. She is now working on her 4th grade primer. By the end of 11th grade we might even have her up to the 6th grade reading level. We are just beaming over her progress.
Marge is 17 and was finally able to get the father of her two children to agree to marry her. They have been living in our spare bedroom for the last two years. As much as we love having those little darlings of hers around, it will be wonderful for them to have a father in their midst. You know grandpa, he just can't keep up with the little ones like he used to. We hear that Jed will be moving his fledgling family into a studio apartment on the other side of the valley in a couple of months. They just need to find a Justice of the Peace and do all the legalities the state requires for the marriage. At least he won't have to go through adoption proceedings to become their father.
Justin, our oldest will be on parole in a month. This is great news because it means his prison term is being cut in half. We couldn't be more pleased with his progress. Why in just the last year he has gotten out of solitary, been through a rehab program, finished the first year of a college program, and started counseling for anger management. What more could we ask for? We look forward to having him in a halfway house close by so we can have a decent visit. Those prison visits are just downers.
Lastly, Horton and I have been so blessed this year. Horton has found work after being unemployed for six years. He has gotten his Church membership reinstated, and is finishing up his addiction therapy. I have been able to cut my anti-depression meds in half during the last year because of all the good things that have been happening in the family. We are so grateful to the Lord that our children love us, and we hope they honestly know how much we love them. Trials make us stronger, so we anticipate becoming one of the strongest families in the Church this year. May the good Lord bless you and guide you with the same care and tenderness He has shown us this last year.
Sincerely,
Peggy and Horton Toxweed
This post is for my wife and children. Elaine and I were talking about our families during the days just before Christmas, and I happened to mention a story about my mother. She has encouraged me to write it down, so here it is.
When I was twelve or thirteen we lived in Nebraska, just outside the airbase. Mom had recently purchased Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream record. On that record was a number named The Lonely Bull. It was great rhythmic music that was perfect for a strip tease. One day I was sitting in the living room all alone, just listening to the album. The Lonely Bull came on and out of nowhere this panted leg appears in the door frame of the hallway. It waves in small circles, and up an down before being withdrawn. Then an arm appears, a hand running up and down the door frame. I had no idea what was going on. As the music progressed, my mom appears around the corner stepping from side to side as she sachet-ed down the length of the long living room. As she moved through the room she was removing imaginary elbow-length gloves, one at a time. When one would come off she would swing the imaginary glove in circles over her head and toss it to the side, then begin on the next glove. I was stunned, but laughing. I was completely beside myself. I had never seen my mother be so silly.
I was speechless, but enjoying myself immensely. As Mom finished with a flourish of the second, unseen, glove she disappeared around the corner of the kitchen with a little flick of the back of her heel.
My mother has always been the most stayed of women, in most respects. But occasionally, during my childhood, she would come out of her reserved mood and do something completely unexpected. She is the one who taught me to "waltz" down the road in the car. We would have an eight track tape playing a waltz, and suddenly she would start swerving to the left and then to the right in rhythm to the music. It was usually done to the Blue Danube. Yes, we were alone on the road; she was usually a very safe driver. I found that my children loved it when I did it for them as well.
Come to think of it, she also taught us the "Thank You Momma." When we were driving we would occasionally come upon a small dip in the road that would make our stomachs feel like we were on a roller coaster that was taking a quick dive. She said that when she was a child she would say "Thank you Momma" each time her mother would hit one of those dips. Sometimes Mom would speed up just a little to give it greater effect. We loved Thank You Mommas.
When I was twelve or thirteen we lived in Nebraska, just outside the airbase. Mom had recently purchased Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream record. On that record was a number named The Lonely Bull. It was great rhythmic music that was perfect for a strip tease. One day I was sitting in the living room all alone, just listening to the album. The Lonely Bull came on and out of nowhere this panted leg appears in the door frame of the hallway. It waves in small circles, and up an down before being withdrawn. Then an arm appears, a hand running up and down the door frame. I had no idea what was going on. As the music progressed, my mom appears around the corner stepping from side to side as she sachet-ed down the length of the long living room. As she moved through the room she was removing imaginary elbow-length gloves, one at a time. When one would come off she would swing the imaginary glove in circles over her head and toss it to the side, then begin on the next glove. I was stunned, but laughing. I was completely beside myself. I had never seen my mother be so silly.
I was speechless, but enjoying myself immensely. As Mom finished with a flourish of the second, unseen, glove she disappeared around the corner of the kitchen with a little flick of the back of her heel.
My mother has always been the most stayed of women, in most respects. But occasionally, during my childhood, she would come out of her reserved mood and do something completely unexpected. She is the one who taught me to "waltz" down the road in the car. We would have an eight track tape playing a waltz, and suddenly she would start swerving to the left and then to the right in rhythm to the music. It was usually done to the Blue Danube. Yes, we were alone on the road; she was usually a very safe driver. I found that my children loved it when I did it for them as well.
Come to think of it, she also taught us the "Thank You Momma." When we were driving we would occasionally come upon a small dip in the road that would make our stomachs feel like we were on a roller coaster that was taking a quick dive. She said that when she was a child she would say "Thank you Momma" each time her mother would hit one of those dips. Sometimes Mom would speed up just a little to give it greater effect. We loved Thank You Mommas.
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