Last year we began our annual Christmas Letter with the words: “Once again we have arrived at the season of faith and hope. Faith, the concept of knowing the present without measuring; hope, the concept of knowing the future without worrying. However, this season both faith and hope do not come without challenges; perhaps more so than at any other time during the past six decades of our Christmas Letters summarizing the lives of our family.” We believe these words are equally true as we bring the days of 2024 to a conclusion and look toward those of 2025. Perhaps, they are also valid for each and every year and not just for the immediate past and future. Each year does seem to be a time for faith, hope and challenges as well as for “faith, hope and love,” the usual Trinity of gifts we desire to share.
In the world, at large, there are still places of conflict which go back in time and may continue in the months ahead. Within our country we prepare for different outcomes than we have experienced in the past. For all of these events, we continue to have “hope,” albeit the actual results may occur in unforseen ways. This is also true for all those events which will become a part of our own, personal lives. Although the past is prelude, we do not hear the symphony until the notes are sounded.
This past year, there have been no nights spent in hospitals and only a few hours visiting our specialists! Karen continues to accept the general condition of the naturally fused vertebrae of her neck, if not the result which prevents her from driving the car. Pat drives to Kroger’s and to St. John Vianney Catholic Church, the only places they need to visit weekly. They continue to participate in their community writing group; Pat’s results are included in his blog: CameosAndCarosels.com. They miss both the foreign and domestic travels that once were a pleasant part of their lives, but they do have all of the DVDs he made for their ongoing enjoyment. Traveling is now left to the younger folks.
Thomas and Michele have taken up the family’s travel efforts in their continuing visits to Asia and Latin America. Victoria and Ismael have moved from Nantucket to Atlanta, which seems to be the new site for the extended Camerino clan. Kirby, Stephen and Kipton were the first to move there; they were joined in May by Rory Michele. (She and her grandfather, Chris, have the same birthday!) Kennedy continues her work as a nurse in Atlanta. Dillon, Carolyn, Brantley and Shiloh are also Atlantians (Dillon and Shiloh share their February birthday!)
Jordan, Samantha, Claire and Charlotte have been joined by James Matthew in Bryan, Texas. (James has the same birthday as his cousin, Kipton!) Christina, Cristian, Elijah, Lila Rose, and Liam remain in The Woodlands. (Lila Rose has the same birthday as her aunt, Victoria; brother Liam shares his with their father, Cristian!) Olivia and Sam are currently settled in Magnolia. Debbie and Frank still live in Elmendorf, Texas, but will, someday, move back into San Antonio where they spend their working hours. (By then, they may actually be “retired.”)
Ken, Tracey, Damien, Joseph and Gabriel, in Spring, Texas, are the closest to being Houstonians. (Pat and Karen once lived in Spring before moving to Cypress and finally, in 2004, to Houston, itself!) Chris and Kelly have established their own new roots in Gadsden, Alabama, from which they are able to “commute” to Atlanta, Georgia to visit their own offspring.
It is difficult for Pat and Karen to realize they are beginning the twentieth year in their retirement community of Eagle’s Trace. Once again, the visit of hurricane Beryl in July allowed them to realize they had made the right choice back in 2004. Fortunately, Eagle’s Trace is served by two electric connections. Although their Pecan Grove apartment lost power for a week, they were able to spend the days in the lounge and restaurant of the new, adjoining Mockingbird Plaza building. Sweltering nights in their own unit were happily offset by relative comfort during the day. If the current northern snows come south, perhaps we will continue to have the ability to stay warm. Yes, hope does spring eternal. We continue to have faith and to send you our love during the challenging days ahead. If all goes well, Pat will be celebrating his 90th birthday next May. For now, we wish you a Blessed and Merry Christmas … and a Happy New Year!
Christmas ReverieA year is drawing to a close.
The leaves, crisp and sere, are chased over the frosted walks by bitter winds.
The lamps give off a penetrating light, interrupted occasionally by sheets of ice
Covering the glittering glass globes.
December – month of snow, wind, joy, completion, commencement, Christmas.
A time of worrying over petty things – sizes, colors, kinds, space, food, wine,
Time, guest list, entertainment.
A time of devotion and contemplation about unanswerable questions: Virgin birth,
Miles traveled over endless sands, angels, a newborn child, God’s great love.
A time of joy and childish excitement – red bicycles, Santa Claus, noises in the night,
Reindeer, candy, toys.
A time of pondering and thoughts of eternity and love.
Lovers part with tears, strangers meet – and always, always, Christmas.
I think of all these things with happiness and wonder.
Christmas is not a completion but a commencement – a new year, a new day, a new plane
Of love, a new life.
The wind whips around corners, down alleys, through deserted fields, and rattles now on
My window pane.
Christmas is coming. The night is cool, the moon is full, and my heart is full of love for
Christ and you.
Bells ring, snow falls, people run, carols sing out, carried by the wind.
God smiles. Again the world remembers His son.
Amid the pettiness there is good spirit; in childish glee there is love; in the hearts of
Christians there is reverence.
A part of me wishes it could remain always, always Christmas.
Karen Camerino
1958: Revised in a land without snow: 2024