December 30, 2015

Re: Letter 54 of 3

Dear Riley:

With all that was going on here and the change in P days, I feel bad that I missed two cycles of letters. We made it through Christmas and things have settled down somewhat from their fever pitch. Christmas eve we were up in L and I had baked four loaves of sourdough for the occasion. We needed to cut the visit short so we could be home in enough time to Skype with you. You looked and sounded great, and it’s hard to believe we’ll have just one more chat with you before you’re home. We all recognize and accept whom the call is really for, and that the rest of us are merely bystanders graciously allowed a peek in on the interchange between mother and son, but we still thoroughly enjoyed the connection with our missionary. (Your mother was considerably more relaxed once she had spoken with you.)

Christmas morning dawned with a blanket of white. Snow blowers were out early and our neighbor was kind enough to come over and clear 8” from our walks and driveway. That was a nice gift. Good people! Around 1:30 we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa P’s home for a family dinner. We had made four pumpkin pies and a double recipe of the holiday green Jello with pineapple, pomegranates, and bananas, which is always a hit. It was only after this that I felt we could breathe easier and settle into the relaxation one might expect from a holiday. Saturday, the day after Christmas, was the first day in two weeks with no obligations or demands on my time which weren’t self imposed. It felt strange and nice but it was over far too quickly.

Your mother and I went to see the new Star Wars movie Saturday evening and enjoyed the diversion. It’s broken the record for the fastest movie to 1 billion and was considerably better than the more recent episodes. The kids don’t have much of a basis for the Star Wars experience, so we went looking for the first trilogy, and wouldn’t you know they are out EVERYWHERE. So, apparently The Force Awakens has awakened a new generation of enthusiasts which will continue the legacy of the most successful franchise ever. We’ll likely take the entire family before the holiday break is over.

For the first time in possibly a decade, we had a live Christmas tree. I was surprised at how very quickly it took up water, but elected to keep it fresh and well watered through the holiday. However, almost overnight, it consumed everything available and the water level was below the bottom of the tree when I discovered it. We gambled and hoped it hadn’t sealed over on the bottom, so decorated it anyway. I suppose we had plenty of indicators that it wasn’t taking up water simply considering the rate at which we were replacing water following this incident. At any rate, by Christmas, it was drooping noticeably and the needles were tinder dry. It was a little unnerving having something so big and dry wrapped in electric lights, so we kept them off the last couple days. The day following Christmas, we took the tree down and moved it to the ditch, where we mounted it in an upright position and torched it. Within 10 seconds, the flames were nearly 20 feet high, and we could feel the heat coming off it from 40 feet away. Yeah, I’m kind of glad to get that out of the house.

Well, we’re running off to one of three engagements for New Year’s. I’ll write a little more when we get back if you haven’t written yet. Take care, have a happy New Year, and keep up the good work. We love and miss you.

Love,
Dad