2024 Christmas Letter
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December 7, 2024
As the year rushes headlong to its conclusion, the time
has come for Jackie and I to reach out to our friends and kin. I know that
among you are those that are curious about what events have occurred in our
household. I can tell you though each year is unique, 2024 may hold the
record…for now.
To be specific, Jackie and I did not venture about far
and wide this year. I will accept the responsibility for us not taking the road
trip we had planned. Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
The years had not been kind to my knees. Fact is they
have creaked since I was fifteen, and the forty-five years of labor on the farm
didn’t improve things. So, I had to make a choice, replacement or I would
likely need to purchase a wheelchair. A fall and an ambulance ride to the ER
cemented the decision made to be best. The first knee became bionic in early
April, and seven weeks later the other knee. What followed was months of physical
therapy.
I
was not cleared until mid-September.
Kinda’
prevented trips, don’t you think. But fear not, once released we went on a test
trip north. Ludington, Michigan is not far, about a three-hour drive, but far
enough. We spent five days going, staying, and coming. It was just a wonderful
time seeing some of the places we love. From our base camp (hotel) the Sleeping
Bear Dunes area was an easy reach. Glenn Arbor has always been a special place
for us. We made certain to visit the lighthouses that dot the shoreline.
No,
I was not yet fit enough for the two-mile hike along the shore to Big Sable
Point Lighthouse, but next year, yes, next year.
So
other than scheduling physical therapy and doctor visits, our lives continued in
mostly normal rhythms. Jackie continues to cut back on her work obligations. A
complete retirement enters frequent conversations. Cutting the last strands of
the cord that has had such a major part of her life is not easy.
Nick
is quite pleased about living in the Denver, Colorado area. He remains an
engineer for ConMed. There is very little about his work he can share with us.
Working in R & D means mums the word. He seems happy and could
parents wish for more…
We now come full circle. What I have
told you earlier made up a large part of my life. But not all. I have worked
diligently on When Light Comes Unexpected, the fourth book of the
Misty Creek Series. I expect, that is my best guess, the book
will be released by June of 2025, the completion of four years of work. Soon I
begin my next writing challenge.
As you can tell, our lives remain busy in ways not
always expected, and that’s OK. But we look forward to the adventures that lie
ahead.
This
season is a good time to consider what Christmas means. To remind ourselves
that at its center remains the birth of a child, born in the humblest of
circumstances. But Christ’s birth is that and so much more, for the birth of
that child was the proof of just how much God loves us.…for God so loved the
world he sent his son…the symbol of ultimate love, to guide our actions…to
guide our lives.
That is our wish for you, that all the joy and light
of Christmas, fill you completely even to the point of overflowing. And may the
light of this special season be reflected onto those you love, now in this
special season and the year ahead.
Merry
Christmas!
The Vander Veldens
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