2020 Rowan Christmas Letter

Sooooo, how has your year been? Our family room is now my office. The playroom is currently Jenny’s office. It has dual functionality as Elena Kay and Cassia’s classroom. The kitchen bar is Josiah’s classroom. Addie uses whatever room, couch or corner that she feels like for her learning experience. 2020 was supposed to be the “year of perfect vision” and noooobody saw that coming. 

This year marked 20 years of wedded bliss for Jenny and me! Jenny is the best part of me for sure. We were scheduled to go on a Caribbean cruise but that was canceled like everything else. Instead we celebrated in St. Petersburg. The one in Florida not Russia. While in the Sunshine State, we went to Disney without the kids. They are currently in the market for some new parents. 

Elena Kay just turned 16 and she is dangerously beautiful and amazingly creative. This whole “stay at home” situation is working out great. She recently acquired her learner’s permit. Now, I just have to permit her to get behind the wheel of my car. We’ve had one learning session. It ended in tears. Pray for me.

Cassia wears weird socks and still laughs at anything I say. We get along great. She was going to be in a movie but it was canceled. Next step: try out for Visual & Performing Arts School. She’s been pretending I’m funny her whole life, so it should be a breeze. If you are ugly as sin and no one else likes you, Cassia will. It’s her spiritual gift! 

Josiah continues to diligently hone his life skills and train with vigorous passion at Fortnite. It’s the beeeest. He also will not take a day off school even if he has all A’s and his grandparents are in town. NERD ALERT! I love him. This year he has taken his soccer skills to the “advanced” league. I’m enjoying living vicariously through him.

Addie joined the Golden Green Lions U10 soccer team. (They were supposed to be yellow but got switched to green last minute.) She was excellent and pivotal in winning the first game of the year. They lost the rest. Definitely a character building experience … for me mostly. She had a great time. Addie has a mothering heart as she has roughly one million baby dolls and counting.

Holly turned five this month and is faithfully spreading her stink throughout our house.

Writing this I noticed that the phrase “supposed to” kept coming up. I went back and rewrote some sentences because I kept using it over and over which is lame. Usually, when we use those words it is followed by explaining why something did not happen or detailing a circumstance that did not live up to expectations. I don’t know what was supposed to happen for you in 2020, but there were probably some plans interrupted to say the least.

Maybe you were supposed to go somewhere and it was canceled. Maybe someone was supposed to say something and they failed to. Maybe you were supposed to be healthy and you were sick. Maybe 2020 was supposed to knock you down so you wouldn’t get back up, but despite all that, you are still here and better days are certainly ahead. 

Supposed means “generally assumed or believed to be the case, but not necessarily so.” Funny thing is that plenty of “supposed to” moments actually happen everyday. That’s where our focus should be ... assuming and believing the best is going to happen any moment. Christmas reminds us that Jesus was supposed to save the world. And He necessarily did. 2021 is supposed to be a great year. I believe it. Do you? Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!