Hello
everyone, Christmas 2011
Sometimes
it feels like I am writing one of these every 20 minutes, but in fact
it has been a whole year. They keep going faster and faster and I'm
reminded of two great truths: nothing changes and everything changes.
Two-Thousand
Eleven has been a pretty academic year for the Fosters. Zachary has
finished his Associate's. Jennifer has finished her Bachelor's. I
finished my Master's. Hannah, still in her Junior Year, has done her
first college class. That's a lot of studying, but we are all in
preparation for the future... because it is now.
This is
likely the last year we will all be together in the same house. Zack
is planning on leaving the nest and heading into the world, possibly
by the time you read this. He's looking around for Law Enforcement
positions and prepping his pepper spray. I thought I was raising
Batman, but I think we got Commissioner Gordon instead; an honest cop
to a fault, and I couldn't be more proud. Too bad he can't grow a
cool Gary Oldman style mustache. We are going to miss him when he
goes, but are really excited to see him get out into the world and
fix it. That, and Eightball wants his own room...
Hannah has
become someone whom I not only love as a daughter, but enjoy spending
time with as a person. She's articulate and funny, but sometimes
goes off with the type of mouth Fosters are famous for. I should
tell her to watch her mouth, but at times her profanity is sculpted
like Michaelangelo working in four-letter words. It's an artform she
is mastering, and she has the brains to back up her points. Also, we
watch a lot of Doctor Who together. She's looking forward to some of
the changes 2012 brings, which I will get into in a moment.
Zack isn't
the only superhero in the Foster family; Jennifer—along with her
academic success—has been volunteering with the Red Cross helping
several families who lost their homes in fires, to include the
Monument Fire which made national news this year. She's building up
the resume to get to our next duty station and find some work saving
the world herself. Very exciting to think about what she's going to
be up to in the coming year, be it work or her own Master's program
(or both). Again, we are getting ready for the next phase.
That next
phase is about here. In the Spring we make what should be our last move for My Firm and return to the Great Green Northwest. About
that time I should be pinning CW4, and the 36 (or possibly 24) month countdown to
retirement starts then. I have truly loved My Firm, but phase two
is about here, and it is time for something new. Not sure what that
will be, and My Firm still wants me to give them one more trip to
the badlands, but that's a small price to pay for joining the Check
of the Month Club.
See?
Everything is changing: new city, new jobs, new school, new ranks.
Everything is staying the same: save the world, get educated, be
busy. The world isn't going to end in 2012; we won't let it.
So, we ask
this year you indulge us just a bit longer as we may be sporadic in
reaching out. Please believe me when I tell you we love you all and
we hope Christmas and the holiday season finds you all looking
forward to 2012, and the New Year being kind to you. Keep calm and
carry on, and we will all get through this together. Merry
Christmas! Happy Chanukah! Happy New Year! Occupy 2012!
The Fosters
