Christmas, 2023
Season's Greetings! During the past 30 years of writing these holiday letters, there have been many milestones – births (2003: “They were born on May 2, Marena at 7lbs 11oz and Vivian at 7lbs 1oz”); first days of school (2009: “With Jeffrey transitioning to a new...
Christmas, 2022
Season’s Greetings!
Each year, as Thanksgiving comes to a close, I start to think about writing this holiday letter. The kids are home; and it is the only reliable few days to have our family picture taken for the card. But, as always by the second week of December, I’m staring at a blank page. Usually, my writer’s block comes from being overwhelmed by all the things that have happened during the year and deciding what stories to share. This year is different.
Christmas, 2021
Season’s Greetings! Yipppeee!! As promised, our 2021 holiday letter starts off with this exclamation of freedom. Last...
Christmas, 2020
Season’s Greetings! In 2013, I compared the tempo of our family life to that of a coffee shop versus the frenetic pace of an inner city that characterized the toddler days. “Traffic, sirens and loud explosions have given way to the steady rhythm of coffee shop chatter...
Christmas, 2019
Season’s Greetings! When I sit down to write my annual update, I’m usually comfortable at my computer with snacks and drinks at the ready. This year, I’m writing from 36,000 feet in seat 13C MXP to JFK traveling back home from Thanksgiving in Europe with the family. ...
Christmas, 2018
Season’s Greetings! As some of you know (or notice from our return address), the highlight of our year has been our move to Jackson Hole Wyoming! A few years ago, we bought a vacation home and fell in love with the beautiful and vast landscape, majestic mountains,...
Christmas, 2017
Seasons Greetings! Many of you who have been receiving our holiday cards know that it contains this letter. Some of you save it for when you have more dedicated time (with tea/coffee in hand, on the couch, cozy with a blanket). You wonder what insights I will have...
Christmas, 2016
Season's Greetings! Last year, I talked about anticipating changes that would be taking place for our family, with Jeffrey leaving for college being the most significant. It was a looming anxiety and it seemed monumental. For thirteen years, our family was defined...
College Drop Off, Baseball, and The Enclosed Green Field of My Mind
August, 2016 A week before my son Jeffrey was to leave for his freshman year in college, he asked me to drive to Berkeley with him to shop for sneakers. Berkeley is 45 min away; Amazon is a click away, AND it happened to be Move In day at Cal. But, his interest in...
Celebrating Our 23rd Anniversary
When John proposed to me in the summer of 1992 in Philly between our first and second years of grad school, we didn't capture it with a selfie, or videotape the moment. But, because John was nervous he would forget what he wanted to say, he wrote down his proposal and...