12/23/21

Dear Santa: An Open Letter in 2021

 Dear Santa,

Well, here we stand again on the precipice of a new year and I find myself penning (well, typing, actually) my annual letter to you.  I'm not sure, given the current circumstances in the world today, how well your Elf Intelligence Agency (EIA) has been able to ascertain about the past year in our home in particular, but I can say that things have looked a lot better overall for the Reynolds clan in Texas.

Anyway, how are you doing? Is your workshop in danger of sinking into the Arctic Ocean due to climate change, or is that all a bit of hyperbole?  How have you been handling the issues regarding the current global pandemic?  I'm assuming that between you, Bigfoot, and Nessie, all of you are competing for the title of "Most Isolated Being on Earth", so I am hoping that you haven't had to deal with all the nonsensicalities associated with managing high population areas during a plague.  That makes me curious: does COVID-19 affect elves?  It's been found in animals, so I can assume that the elf species is a closer genetic match to humans than a pug.  Anyway, I hope you've stayed safe this past year.

As for us, well, I can sort of say that 2021 was probably the year we may have overcompensated a bit.  With the weariness that 2020 left us and the prospect of vaccinations on the horizon, we started making quite a few plans to make the new year better than ever, in spite of what the current sociopolitical climate may have been.

Cuties.  Way better than that Netflix movie.

Sarah and I started off the year by celebrating our 10th year of marriage.  I couldn't believe we've been together a decade, but she managed to stick with me through all the ridiculousness that I constantly bring to our union.

I love to see that happy face.

We had stated that we'd love to do something like go to a tropical island for our anniversary, but COVID put the kibosh on that idea.  Instead I managed to take her to a sub-tropical island that was much more affordable and easier to access: Galvestion, TX!  Now, although it's only a 30 minute drive from our house, the truth is that we hadn't spent much time exploring the island in any real sense, so that was a nice opportunity to do so.

I know, I'm adorable.

We got a couple's massage (one of Sarah's bucket list items), had a wonderful seafood dinner at Gaidos, visited Moody Mansion, toured Bishop's Palace, and stayed at the Coppersmith Inn (a wonderful bed and breakfast being renovated by an energetic young couple).  It was a wonderful trip that we will treasure forever, and it provided us with a great chance to remember what it was like when it was just the two of us.  Truthfully, we only had about two months before Sarah got pregnant with Leah, so our time as newlyweds didn't last long.  It's mainly been a decade of being in a family while learning how to be married.  So far, so good.

Warm love on a frigid Valentine's Day

The next month we were in for an unusual surprise from your wintery rival Jack Frost, who managed to unleash a furiously frigid winter storm upon the Lone Star State that we weren't prepared for.  If you recall, the power grid in Texas is separate and unregulated, which in part means that we can't draw from other states when the going gets tough.  Well, the going got tough and the power grid almost entirely collapsed, leaving many in the state without power as the temperatures outside were down to 10 degrees.

"Grandma" Hanks was a great surrogate for the biological grandparents

We lost power for many days, which made the temperatures inside dip down into the 50s.  I still managed to have power at work, so I went there during the day, but Sarah and the kids managed to find refuge over at the Hanks Family's home nearby.  Over all the time where they were cycling out power to keep things from collapsing, they thankfully didn't have much time out.  On the other hand, I would spend the nights in our cold home just to make sure I was there in case any of the pipes broke and I needed to shut off the water.  I also got to use my generator for the first time, which was ironic because I got it in case a hurricane took out our power.  I never thought I'd almost freeze to death in Texas.

Camping breakfast

Eventually after a week things thawed out and life continued as normal.  We continued our tradition this year of me taking the kids camping together, which was a lot of fun.  They complain, bicker, and argue a lot during these trips, but come away saying that they had the best time ever, so I try to power through the exhaustion of taking care of three kids while not in their normal environment.

Fish Lake - Relaxation at its finest

As per her usual annual routine, Sarah took the kids and drove out to Utah and Idaho for a number of weeks.  She was able to go see a number of friends and visit family.  The first stop, thankfully, is most often the family cabin at Fish Lake.  I love to go there, but this year I wasn't able to make it there.  Maybe next year.

Reunion 2020 2021

One of the main reasons we went was for a Reynolds Family reunion.  The original was supposed to happen in 2020, but got delayed for obvious reasons.  We all were able to gather at a set of nice vacation homes in St. George, Utah, and spend some time together.  Overall it was great to see everyone that we could, although having to take care of little kids made it hard to get in the visiting with family that I wanted to do.

A big day for Sean

One of the fortunate things we were able to do this year was have Sean be baptized at the family reunion.  Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, many other family members were able to attend virtually and see him make the decision to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ.

Grandpa Richardson & cousins

Sarah spent lots of time in Idaho getting the chance to be with family.  I think my kids really enjoyed the freedom they had at Grandma and Grandpa's house, especially with a trampoline and big yard to play in.

Grandma Richardson snuggles are the best

Because their circumstances don't allow Sarah's parents to easily travel these days, I'm grateful that my kids can go to them and spend time with them.  I may be alone for weeks at a time, but I know the sacrifice is worth it.  Plus the house stays very clean while they're gone.

Malcolm bonding with Uncle Barry

I think it's important that the kids get to know their extended family.  Mine is pretty small, relatively speaking.  I only have one uncle that I actually know, and two aunts.  That makes for small reunions when it's not me and the brothers.

Frenectomy & tongue tie

Once their travels were over with, the three oldest kids had a minor surgical procedure that will be helpful for them with the development of their mouths.  There is still some therapy that they need to do, but I'm glad we could get them some early intervention to hopefully help with other aspects in their lives.

Activity days

I can't believe it, but my two oldest kids are finally at a point there they have church activities every other week.  We're entering into the stage of life where we're busy for the sake of our children, making sure they get every opportunity they need in order to advance.

A long-overdue addition to our home

One of the coolest things we've been involved in during this past year is a homeschool music and performing arts co-op.  It's a well-oiled organization that has been great at exposing our kids to the type of musical instruction that we haven't been able to provide them at home.  I just never seem to have the time, and I don't seem to have the teaching talent when it comes to musical instruments.  As part of this new endeavor, we got a Yamaha Clavinova electric piano.  It's been a beautiful addition to our home and I really love seeing the kids get on it and plinking out tunes by ear.  Sometimes I even try to sit down and tickle the ivories, but it's hard to do when you're a guitarist and don't have the coordination to move your hands independent of each other.

COVID patient with emotional support dog

In spite of all the precautions and vaccinations, I wound up contracting COVID-19 this year.  I honestly don't know how I got it because I was the only one in the family that ever tested positive in spite of being in close contact with everyone in my immediate family.  Thankfully, however, my symptoms were very mild.  I lost the ability to smell for about a week and got slightly fatigued.  It was more of an inconvenience than anything else, which I am grateful for.  I know this disease isn't something to joke with.  I came out of it just fine, which I attribute to the vaccine's efficacy.  I knew I probably wasn't going to avoid COVID-19 the rest of my life, but I am grateful that the impact wasn't really significant.  Others haven't been that fortunate.

Taekwondo testing. Tiny tigers taking task.

We are still doing taekwondo as a family, which I immensely enjoy.  I think I enjoy it more than the kids, but that's probably because the only time we are able to do it is in the evening when they're tired.  I'm sure they'd love it if it was a morning activity.

Texas Taekwondo Twister Tournament

We even were brave enough to enter into the largest tournament in Texas, which made for a fun family trip to Dallas.  The kids got to experience competition and did their best in their age ranges.  I competed as well and wound up placing third in forms (kata in karate terms).  I almost placed third in combat sparring but lost by the timer at the last minute of my round.  In terms of being my first tournament, I'd say I did pretty good.

Early morning flights are exhausting

One of the exciting things we were also able to do was to go visit Sarah's brother and his family up in southern Oregon.  We had an early morning flight that day (5AM), followed by a 4-hour drive to their home, so it made for an exhausting travel day.

Putting around the country club

I love seeing the kids interact with their cousins.  I never had cousins close to my age growing up.  Plus, I had a cumulative total of six cousins from both my mom and dad's sides of the family, so my odds weren't that great.  To see my kids have an abundance of "built in friends" is something that I cherish.

Little beauties

We had a lot of fun with them exploring the venues around their area.  We rode the jet boats on the Rogue River, hiked in the redwoods, and enjoyed some time at the beach.

Cousin power!

I do love the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  It's always held a special place in my heart.

The best way to stay warm at the Pacific Northwest beaches

When it was time to head back to Texas, there were lots of tears shed by my kids.  They love all their cousins so much and it's always hard for them to be so far away.  I'm hoping that someway, somehow we can be closer to them, but I don't see that happening in the near future.

Getting a room

When October came around I had made the decision that Sarah and I needed to get out together again.  We had so much fun in Galveston for our anniversary and after a very taxing summer we needed some alone time.  So we got some great help from our friends to watch the kids and we spent a day in downtown Houston taking in the sights and smells.

Street tacos at their finest

Houston has more restaurants than any other city I've lived in and the food is pretty diverse.  Because of its unique location we get to partake of TexMex, Texas BBQ, and Cajun food quite often.  One of my new favorite pastimes is to go try a new restaurant every so often with my wife.  So far we haven't run out of places to try.

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The day I finally became a man

And speaking of food, this is the year I finally was able to get something that I've been longing for years to get.  They say that once a man reaches a certain age he either needs to get into repairing cars or smoking meats.  Given my love of food and the lack of space in our home, I went with the latter.  I got a Traeger grill and became an instant evangelist for the brand.  I like to think of Traeger owners the same as pilots.  One of my favorite pilot joke is, "How can you tell if there's a pilot in the room? He'll tell you."  It's ironically the same way with Traeger grill owners.  We even have our own virtual community that we call the "Traegerhood."

Smoked salmon, a.k.a. pink gold

So far I've tried a variety of things on it.  One of the favorite family dishes was smoked salmon.  We picked that sucker clean when we were done.

Best beef jerky I've had

I've also made a few batches of beef jerky with it, which was some of the juiciest I've ever had.  The first batch made about 4 pounds and it didn't even last a week.

Smoked chili is not very chilly

For our church chili cook-off I wound up doing it on the Traeger.  There wasn't much left when I picked the pot back up.

Brisket came out delicious on the first try

I even tried the piece de resistance of Texas barbecue: beef brisket.  It turned out really tasty the first time around, but now I'm learning things every time I do a cook.  But, look at me, I'm evangelizing it to you, St. Nick!  You can see how we Traeger owners are a unique breed that are just excited to cook stuff.

Noble D&D warriors battling it out

I have still taken up the hobby of running Dungeon and Dragons games for my kids and their characters, although this year I don't think I did that many.  They really get into playing their characters and Leah has taken to playing a ranger like a bugbear to swamp grass.  I really wish I could do more of that for them, but work and activities seem to take most of my free time these days.

Gregariously geeking out

Occasionally I get the chance to let my geek flag fly high, especially when it comes to playing tabletop games.  I have a few friends that are able to get together for wargaming and role-playing adventures.  It's hard to do when you have kids, but I have a great time every time I come away from it.

The live action remake of "Gravity Falls" is going to be epic...

This summer during our trip to Oregon my kids were introduced to the cartoon "Gravity Falls" and promptly decided that our family Halloween costume should be the characters from the show.  I busily got to work developing the props and backgrounds needed to complete the theme.  At our church's trunk-or-treat we were able to blow everyone away with our totally accurate recreation of the Mystery Shack made from cardboard.  I even won the prize for best individual costume, mainly because I whited out my hair and beard and no one honestly recognized me.  Now that's a sign of a good costume if you ask me.

Cousin time in Wakulla Springs

After years of waiting, we finally were able to take a family trip to Florida for some fun.  One of the things we did on the way was stop for the night in Wakulla Springs, one of the largest freshwater springs in the United States.  This place was, consequently, also the filming location for the old movie "Creature from the Black Lagoon."  We stayed the night at the lodge there, which was really quite fun.  In the morning we were able to meet up with my brother Dave and his family who were staying nearby, and we took a river cruise along with them to tour the spring.  It was good to catch up and spend some more time with cousins.

Little legs.  Big spirit.

I have to admit that the kids did great on this trip, even though we really were going at full throttle the entire time.  Malcolm held his own really well, but there were times when he just tuckered right out.

A piece of history

My parents were able to join us on this trip, which was both convenient and memorable.  One of our first stops was going to Kennedy Space Center to see the exhibits there.  Being the NASA nerd that I am (hey, it pays the bills), it was fun to take my kids to see the awesome exhibits they have there.  I think they were just a little too young for some of it, but it was fun to take them anyway.  One of the touching moments for me was seeing the Atlantis shuttle orbiter in its final resting place.  I had watched many launches and landings of space shuttles over the years and to see one in person was quite humbling.  Much of my childhood was wrapped up in space activities and to see one of the artifacts that I had watched and read about so many times really blew me away.

Found some of my work in the wild

One of the things about my job is that I never know who is going to use my work.  When we were touring the KSC visitor center, I managed to see one of the models I created being used in some wall artwork.  It made me chuckle.  I also saw some of my animation work being shown in some of the presentations.  I wondered how many people there would be surprised if I mentioned to them, "Hey, I made that!"

The Happiest Place on Earth (for Disney shareholders)

Of course the main event for the trip was visiting Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.  We had made the decision that when we decided to go to the theme parks that the youngest would have to be at least five years old.  When Malcolm came into our family, we decided to rethink our strategy and decided to go for it.  We were planning on going in 2020, but, you know...

Magic carpet ride

Actually I think half of the people that were there at the same time as us were planning on going in 2020 but had to change their plans.  We were supposedly going at a time when it wasn't supposed to be busy, but it felt packed anyway.  Either way, though, we made the magic happen.

Almost a five year old again

I have to admit that one of the coolest places we visited was the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land at Hollywood Studios.  They really went all out on the theming and it really pays off.  We stood in a lot of long lines, but thankfully every time my kids admitted that they thought it was totally worth it.

Literally making new friends

We did all the typical stuff for the kids like making droids and getting Harry Potter wands, which made for a fun time.  Boy howdy, though, do they nickel and dime you there.  I can't believe how much we had to pay for certain below average pieces of food.  It was nuts.  Well, not actual nuts, but it definitely was crazy.  I wonder what the upcharge for nuts actually is?

The faces that make it all worth it

However, the money never compares to the smiles on my kids' faces and hearing them say how much fun they had.  They were sad that the vacation was ending, but knew that we had made some wonderful memories that we'll take with us forever.  One of these days we'll go back and probably spend more time at Universal Studios until Disney gets their heads back into gear.

Saying goodbye is hard

One of the unfortunate things we had to do was say goodbye to our time-share bulldog, Philly.  She was ten years old and had developed a tumor that was just making her miserable.  Her family, the Schonemans, decided it was time for her to have some peace.  The kids learned second-hand about how hard it is to lose a pet, and many tears were shed.  The day before they had to put her down, we went over to spend a while with her and say our last mortal goodbyes to her.  She's been an important part of our lives, even though she wasn't really ours to begin with.

Last bit of Philly love

As my final parting token to her, I gave her a bowl of cracklins that I made from beef brisket fat.  I don't think I've ever seen her so energetically devoted to devouring food before.  It was a great last meal to have.  Honestly, out of all the Christmas gifts I have given this year, I think that one was the best.

My mini-me

Anyway, Santa, that's how our year has gone.  I skipped over a few things, but touched on a lot of the important parts of our journey around the sun.  Now I guess you'd like to know a bit about how our individual family members are doing, right?  Let's start with Malcolm.

Deep in concentration

I call Malcolm my mini-me for so many reasons, mainly because he is almost like a little redheaded clone of myself.  I find his attitudes and mannerisms to familiar to my own that it's almost uncanny.  Recently he's taken to playing with cars a lot and enjoying doing coloring and drawing.

Cool dude

He has taken the role of being the youngest in great stride and continually captivates everyone's attention.  He gets most of the love in the family and he is greatly accomplished at throwing two-year old side glances with any chance he can get.  It's quite hilarious to see.

Such a two-nager, but a lot of fun

Malcolm turned two this year, which means he gets partially posessed by demons on occasion for no reason.  In spite of this little setback, he's still one of my most loving and affectionate children.  Every snuggle with Malcom is a whole body snuggle, which is one of the best things ever.

Snow angel

Next we have Lucy who turned six this year.  She still is determined to demonstrate her independence on every single thing she does and thinks she needs to prove herself at every chance.  I'm not sure if that's for lack of something on our part, the consequences of being child number three, or if it's just her personality.  Either way, this girl is almost always totally emotionally invested in everything she does.  It makes for some great passion projects.

Big and independent.  Or so she thinks.

Lucy has taken to her role as big sister with all the maternal instincts she can muster.  I constantly find her trying to be a third mother to Malcolm and wanting to help him out with whatever task he finds himself in.  Sometimes they're the best of friends and sometimes they are a hornet's nest on fire.  Lucy also continually finds ways to spend time with people outside our family.  She has taken it upon herself to be the best of friends with our elderly neighbors and occasionally pops on over with a treat or art project for them that she made herself.  She is kind, passionate, and as fun-loving as ever.

Double-hatting it for camping

When it comes to Sean I both tear my hair out and am floored by his abilities.  He continually tends to push the limits when it comes to my patience, but I recognize that he's going to go great places once he can learn to channel his boundless creativity.  He's taken to the music co-op really well and I am impressed by his ability to pick out melodies he knows on the piano.  The latest one he is working on is "I'm Still Alive" from the video game Portal.

Boundless enthusiasm

He still is into everything technology related and I feel like I'm going to have to be one step ahead of him to ensure that he doesn't do anything to ruin his life or the life of others.  It's scary how well he takes to anything computer-related, and I can see now how my parents felt overwhelmed by trying to learn about technology.  Anyway, he still tells everyone that he wants to be an engineer some day, so if you can find something in your sack for him that fits the bill I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

A calm and mature soul

At the head of the pack is Leah, my calm-souled daughter.  I have to admit that when I need a little bit of peace and sanity, I look to her.  She does get a little crazy at times, but that's okay.  She's still a kid, although her maturity doesn't feel like it sometimes.  She reminds me a lot of her mother.  Give her a book and an art pad and she's good to go for days.  I enjoy the times I get to spend with her because I know her kind and loving soul will always try to cheer me up.

My pretty lady

Sarah continues to amaze me with how much she takes on herself every day.  She is still homeschooling the kids, so she acts as their teacher, mother, caretaker, chauffer, nurse, and hostage negotiator on a daily basis.  I have learned over the past few years that she really doesn't need me to be around to be an effective mom.  But it is nice to be wanted.  Between taking care of the kids, she is still actively involved in church and continually serves those around us.  She really amazes me with all that she continually puts up with.

Some of her best creations: soap and tiny human

By the way, she has made really great use of the present you got her last Christmas.  If you remember, she got soap making supplies and really took off with it.  She even managed to sell a few over the past year.  Maybe some day she can make it into a part-time jobby (job + hobby), but for now she just does it for relaxation and de-stressing.  I hope she gets to do more over the next year because it is fun to see her do the things that bring her joy.  That's one of the reasons I married her.

Yes, still here in 2021

As for me, well, this year was a transformative year for me.  If you remember I've written before about my mental health struggles over the past few decades.  This year I was falling back into a funk and after a while I just was getting tired of it.  So I decided to throw everything to the wall to see what stuck, medically speaking.  Thanks to some insight into the similar mental health challenges of those genetically related to me, I changed my medication to something that had a bit more of a stimulating kick to it.  At first it didn't do a whole lot, but once I got into the full dosage I was feeling a bit better.  

Cyberpunk elephants of the nocturnal realm unite!

One of the other things that I did was go and get a sleep study and it turns out, unsurprisingly, that I have sleep apnea.  According to their results, I was waking up an average of 16 times a night and my blood oxygen levels was getting down to about 84%.  It was no surprise that I was tired all the time and didn't have the cognition to make good health choices.  So I was able to get myself a CPAP machine before they all got stuck in the mess that is the country's shipping system.  I can honestly say now that I can't imagine myself without this device.  Not only do I have energy to go all day, I feel like my lungs have larger capacity than they've ever had before.  I would normally finish my taekwondo lesson exhausted and unable to do anything.  Now I finish and think to myself, "I could do some more."  It's wonderful.  In addition to this change, I also enrolled in a medically managed weight loss program where I managed to lose about 80 pounds, which helped out a lot.  So this was the year that I finally focused on my health instead of worrying about taking care of kids or my wife.  So far I'm doing much better than I have in decades.  I'm hoping that I can keep it up, although the holiday treats have been hard to avoid. 

The smell of gunpowder in the Texas sun

In addition to the many challenges I've had, I've tried to keep up with the hobbies that make me feel more manly.  I still like to go shooting when I can and have added way more trinkets to my AR than is probably practical.  I try to do some 3D printing when I have time, and I still like to geek out in painting miniatures.  I wish I had more time to do some construction work around the house, but right now it doesn't seem like an easy possibility.  With the kids being much younger it's hard to find the time and money to do things like that.

Happy Holidays from the Reynolds Family

Anyway, Santa, if you've gotten this far, I applaud you.  You're very kind to read to the end.  (The same goes to any bystanders who have read this.)  I certainly appreciate your ability to maintain the tradition you do every year.  Heaven knows it's needed.  I don't know if I really have anything to wish for myself for Christmas, honestly.  I have everything I need and more.  I guess if I could ask for anything, it would be more time.  I don't have time to enjoy all the things have already, so it doesn't make any sense to ask for more stuff that I won't use.  As I said, we sort of overcompensated this year on the amount of things that we did.  However, I have created more memories this year than I have in the past few years combined.  Our trips were filled with lots of exciting and enjoyable times, and our bellies were full of good food.  I only wish that we had more time with family and friends.  It's those times that I look forward to the most.  Being isolated from the rest of our extended family has been hard, but it's also made it so we have made foundational memories of our own.

So I don't know if you have any magical items in your bag that would give me some more hours in the day or the ability to slow down the good times so they last longer, but that's my wish.  My kids are growing up too fast and I can't seem to keep up with them.  The vacations seem to go by too fast.  The hours I spend away from home seem to outweigh the ones I spend caring to my family.  The past year has shown how fragile life is for all of us and I want to make sure that mine counts for something worthwhile.

So Merry Christmas again, Santa!  I'm grateful that we get to have you visit our home each year.  It's fun to see my kids open up their gifts and rummage through their stockings.  I look forward to that moment every year, and every year I am not disappointed.  Thank you for reminding us of the gift given to us two millennia ago, and encouraging us to celebrate it every year.  It's truly the only gift we have that we'll never be able to fully pay back.

Sincerely,

-Brad Reynolds

P.S. I don't know if we'll have any sweets, but feel free to partake of the leftover turkey in fridge.  I smoked it on the Traeger.

P.P.S. Speaking of things that sound like 'Traeger,' I'm open to the idea of a Jaeger fighting robot again, mainly to make my commute to work more interesting.

P.P.P.S. Did I mention I got a Traeger?  Please bring wood pellets.