Christmas 2000

Well, the time has come for use to sit down at the old keyboard and compose yet another Christmas letter summarizing the year in the life of the Nelson family. I am happy to report on a few key items. Cyle changed jobs only once and we did not buy or sell any houses. In fact, our greatest accomplishment was that we lived at the same address for the entire year 2000. Though some may find this news a bit under whelming, the Nelson family is proud of our accomplishment, in recent years having grown accustom to a high level of familial mobility.

 

            Cyle started the year working for a Finnish automation company called PMJ. In the year Cyle worked for PMJ, he went to Finland four times and Germany once, wracking up over eighty thousand frequent filer miles on American Airlines. Though the work was interesting, PMJ was going through a period of restructuring. Cyle was asked if he wanted to move to either Colorado or Finland. Seeing the writing on the wall, Cyle switched companies and now works for Adept Technology. Cyle was hired to open a regional office in Dallas. The job is demanding but is going well.

 

            Margaret, who is now four years old, is a darling little girl. She attends a preschool program twice a week and enjoys the activity. Her favorite day is when she is anointed line leader and the entire class must follow her on the way to playground and music class. This attitude carries over to home life where “I want to go first, too” is frequently heard. Regardless of the newfound urge to be foremost, Margaret is a very polite little girl who tries very hard to be nice and loves her little brother.

 

            Calvin is also doing well. At the time of last year’s letter, Cal was a scant few months old. He was helpless and noisy. With the passing of a years time, that has, as you would expect, changed. He is no longer helpless. In fact, he is very mobile and we have reached that age where there is nothing in our house below knee height that is either breakable or sharp. Even so, Cal does his best to try our baby proofing skills, as he likes to experiment with anything electrical, most notably Laura’s curling iron and blow dryer (unplugged of course).

 

            Cal has been walking for months, though he is still a bit awkward with the concept. He walks similar to Frankenstein or a drunken sailor stammering out of a bar at two in the morning. As the days go by, he gets better and better. In fact, just today Margaret and Cal were practicing spinning in place. They are both easily amused.

 

            Now for the highlight of he Nelson family, Laura. This has been a busy year for her. She has recently started selling Mary-Kay cosmetics in the little spare time she has. Laura is the playgroup coordinator for a church mother’s group and is a room-mother for Margaret’s preschool class. She also found time to start a bunco group with a number of other ladies. Perhaps the most significant milestone of her year is the fact that she turned thirty years of age.

 

Overall, the year has been full of working hard, putting down new roots, picking up kids, and deepening friendships. We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season.