Christmas 2008

2008: The year of absolute and total embellishment

Truth be told, not much happened in the Nelson household this year. It was very uneventful. The  kids do what they always do. They grow up too fast. Neither I nor Laura had any life altering experiences this year, fortunately or otherwise. So I am going to take the time to embellish practically everything I put into this years letter to make things sound far more interesting then they actually were. I am going to write one of those “pound my chest, in your face, my year was better than your year” kind of Christmas letter. As an aid to the reader, though, I will make sure to put a translation of sorts in parentheses as we go so you get a real sense of where truth ends and the embellishment begins...

Margaret, the oldest child, is twelve and continues her progression up the academic ladder (she is now a sixth grader at Grapevine Middle School). She has established herself as a creative and progressive thinker (she gets all 'A's). In that environment, she has surrounded herself with like-minded individuals who share a common value system. (She is a Girl Scout).  Over the last year, she continued to explore her interest in the ancient and noble art of textile manufacturing. (She taught herself how to knit, crochet, and has taken sewing classes). 

Our middle child, Cal, is a third grader at Dove elementary. Perhaps the most significant accomplishment was the satellite he designed and built this summer. (It was made of cardboard, tin foil, and a healthy amount of Scotch tape). After the initial prototyping phase, he entered into complex negotiations with NASA for the rights to launch it into space. (He sent an email to NASA from a link on their web site). As I am sure you can understand, the negotiations were tricky and the first round happened to break down before significant progress could be made. (He never received a reply to the email). He then engaged in a second round of negotiations (he resent the email) but unfortunately that round did not progress as he had planned. (They did not reply to the second one either). At this point, Cal is pursuing a relationship with the government of Kazakhstan, which most of you know have extensive satellite launching capabilities from their days as a former republic of the now defunct Soviet Union. The relationship is still in development and we will be sure to update you as the situation changes. (To this point, he has not been able to find a web-site nor email address to send his request. He keeps looking, though).

Charlie, our youngest, is now a 5 year old in Kindergarten at Dove Elementary. Charlie has a keen insight for history, music, and the arts. (He takes music classes where he is learning to play the  glockenspiel and he likes to paint).  This year he has taken an  interest in mid-century American nautical folklore. (He watches a lot of Popeye the Sailor Man). In a rather symbiotic manor, this has led me to rediscover my own personal love of the sea which I discovered as a young man. (I have been listening to a lot of my old Gordon Lightfoot CDs lately). Charlie has recently begun honing his academic interests in personal research projects which I know will pave the way for intellectual greatness in the years ahead. (He just got his own public library card and gets to check out books on his own. He is very excited.) 

Laura, as in years past, is a champion to many worthy causes to which she is tirelessly devoted (She is too busy to let herself get tired). She is actively involved in the sustainability and viability of the Earth (She is head of the environmental committee at Dove Elementary). She also believes that the children are our future and she works to develops the creativity in those future leaders of tomorrow (She teaches music at the local preschool and holds private music classes for young children). Throughout all of this, she finds time to maintain a healthy social network. (She now has a Facebook page).

As for myself, I continued to push the boundaries of human physical performance, competing in yet another Triathlon. (Whereas technically true, I am amazed that I am as slow as I am at these things and show no signs of getting much better). At work, I continue to push the envelope and create enabling technologies that provide high value-added synergistic solutions for my company and our customers. (I still work for Adept Technology and I still have a job). I also find time to network within my industry and community. (I, like Laura, also have a Facebook page).

Have a peaceful holiday season...                      Cyle, Laura, Margaret, Cal and Charlie Nelso