Christmas Letter 2013

Merry Christmas from the Reyersons!

Well, our tree is up and I am halfway through Connie’s first batch of Chex Mix, so that means it’s time for me to get this letter in the mail and catch you all up on the news of the year.  So without further delay….

Our house instantly got bigger and more quiet one hot afternoon back in August, when we dropped Collin & Adrienne off at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, where they are just about to wrap their first semester.  By all accounts, they’re adjusting to campus life very nicely and enjoying the freedom that only being 18 years old and 99 miles away from Mom and Dad can bring.  We hear a lot more from Adrienne, who came home to visit a bit more often and communicates with us daily, than we do from Collin, but it’s clear to us that they’re both enjoying themselves and making good choices, and we’re thrilled that they chose the same school to start their college careers.

It’s no small task to round up a family when they’re scattered over 3 time zones, but the kids’ Graduation Party back in June drew a pretty nice crowd.  Family members traveled in from California, Colorado, and of course Iowa, and Mother Nature gave us a beautiful Saturday afternoon to have the party in the back yard.  Some of our friends here in town stopped by and met members of our family, which was so fun to watch.  It was a wonderful day, one of my very best ever, and a reminder that gatherings to celebrate a happy occasion don’t happen nearly often enough.

It’s different without the kids in the house, but Connie’s routine has continued without interruption, and that includes her work at St. Louis Park Schools.   There are four K-5 schools here in town, and Connie works at three of them throughout the school year.  She likes the work and she LOVES the kids.  With Christmas directly ahead, however, she has a few days blocked off to prepare her annual mountain of sweet Christmas treats.

It was a crazy summer getting the kids ready for Eau Claire, but right in the middle of all that, we got a phone call from Mike that  Dad had suffered a heart attack.  That was on July 20.  Four days later, open heart surgery at Mayo, where surgeons performed 5 bypasses (didn’t know you could even do 5).  Two weeks later, an ablation procedure at Allen memorial in Waterloo.  Months of cardiac rehab after that.  It has been a long road back for Dad, who’ll turn 75 in January, but he’s feeling a lot better, and our hearts were all warmed by the flood of cards, gifts, visitors, phone calls and food sent to the house after Dad got home.  I’m not sure of a lot, but I’m sure of this:  small town folks are made of the best stuff there is.  Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging words.

Further proof that literally nothing lasts forever:  my 23-year run at Best Buy ended on March 1.  New leadership at the tip top of the organization drove out a lot of changes, and I was one of literally hundreds laid off earlier this year.  In fact, I am told that the headcount at the office has dropped by nearly 1,000 in the last 12 months.  The news isn’t all bad:  I landed a position 8 weeks later with a service provider for whom Best Buy is a client, and if you can believe this, I have a desk at the Best Buy office just like I always did.  So I still work AT Best Buy, just not FOR Best Buy.  Bottom line is I am happy to be working.  Lot of folks out there (including a few I know) are not as lucky.

With Thanksgiving falling so late in November and the kids’ break so short, everybody stayed put for Turkey Day this year, but our Christmas plans are to spend 4 nights in Iowa (2 in Oelwein, 2 with Connie’s folks in Webster).  It will be wonderful to punctuate a wild year with a nice quiet Christmas in Iowa with our families and a few dear friends.

Well, that‘s our year on one sheet of paper!  If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

Warren, Connie, Collin & Adrienne