Dear Friends,
This year Christmas comes to Houston in a blaze of reds and golds. Unlike many of you we cannot look forward to a white Christmas with every card we write. But this year we have been blessed with New England foliage. A few weeks ago our temperatures took an unusual drop into the high thirties before rebounding to the low 70’s. It was enough to eliminate the chlorophyll and allow the reds and golds to break through. They bring back so many fond memories of the days we spent with many of you in years gone by. We wish we were able to be with you now, in person, to tell you how much we love and miss you. Instead these mere jottings will, once again, have to suffice.
It is also time to sum up this past year. In general, it has been a good, stable one. Karen remains a cancer survivor, for which we give great thanks. Pat continues to survive trying to keep 1,500 faculty members relatively content with administrative “stuff.” His thanksgiving will come upon retirement one of these years.
A major event was again the birth of a grandchild, the sixth. Thomas Joseph joined his brothers Jordan and Dillon and sister Christina in September. Ken and Tracy continue to thrive among the managed chaos.
Chris, Kelly and their daughters, Kirby and Kennedy, now do their own thriving in a new, larger house just outside of The Woodlands, Texas. They have more trees but we still like our own place in the country. (In case you’ve noticed, few Houstonians actually live in Houston.)
Deb and Joe continue to landscape and re-do their own home in San Antonio in between answering librarian-type questions put by adults and teenagers seeking knowledge, if not wisdom.
Karen and Pat still attempt to respond to spiritual and theological inquiries at the Cenacle Retreat House, for her, and Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Community, for him. We hope that there is some wisdom as well as information in what we offer.
Once more, we took time away from Houston and the U.S. We were fortunate enough to spend two weeks in October touring castles and cathedrals in England and Wales. For the ruins we recommend Carnarvon Castle in Wales and for the “modern” look, you can’t beat Windsor. For cathedrals there are Winchester, Salisbury and York; take your pick; we liked them all.
Yet it is good to get back home, kick off our shoes and relax. We hope that such happiness and simple joys are yours as well. As the years pass, we seem to be mellowing out … which sounds better to us than the urging to “chill out.” We sincerely hope that you, too, are finding peace and tranquility in your lives as we approach the new millennium. As this century tumbles towards closure, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and a new year filled with joy.