Merry Christmas!

The year has gotten away from me. 

On our return to Minneapolis, we immediately went out shopping for a Christmas tree. We were lucky to find one! Most of them were sold out.

Then there is the matter of gifts. Jumping online, I discovered that many of my choices could not be guaranteed for Christmas arrival. 

This brings me to holiday cards. I could claim that we are going paperless to protect the environment and ease the strain on tired postal workers, but you would’ve seen right through that! 

We missed the cut-off for ordering cards three weeks ago. 

With best wishes for your holiday season, here is our cyber offering.

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It’s been a good year for the Coats clan! We spent the summer at the lake and were thrilled to spend more time with our Granddaughter in Portland.

This past Thanksgiving, our entire family gathered together for the first time in two years. Here’s the photo:

Notice that little Adalyn is busy learning… a lot of things!

It doesn’t feel like MJ, and I should be the grandparents, but we’re finding it’s a pretty good gig; lots of fun, few responsibilities! 

Our cats made their first trip to Oregon. They didn’t seem to mind the three-day drive. Except, when they left Minneapolis, the mice moved in. Upon return, Seeley and Stella quickly found the port of entry and are now standing guard, so we should be good! 

I have to say, retirement is way busier than we imagined! I am growing increasingly concerned, however, about the runaway time inflation we are experiencing. The stuff I remember happening five years ago is now twenty-five years ago. 

The poet David Whyte reminds us of a solution:

“Beauty is the harvest of presence, the evanescent moment of seeing or hearing on the outside what already lives far inside us.”

May your holiday season be filled with beauty.

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