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Each holiday season it gets more difficult to capture our year in entertaining ways as our children become adults and we become old. In as much easier to make fun of them when they were all here, trying so hard to be cool...but then they became cool. And now I spend my time trying to convince them that I'm cool. I miss their childish, awkward ways. Now, I enjoy them in wonderment.
Big events included a family trip to New York where the five of us stayed in a 300-square-foot hotel room and participated in back-to-back events and tours. Within the first 20 minutes---of our arrival, we found a man lying in the road, administered naloxone, and witnessed our patient's immediate recovery (which was a literal jump start to the vacation). With the height of our family, our gawking faces, and the collective attention span of a gnat - we did not go unnoticed on the subways and streets of New York. On our last day there, we learned that the subway map/route planning is an APP on your PHONE. I begrudgingly admitted the ease of this, but still find value in navigating with PRINTED maps, especially since I find it easier to understand a topographic map of the Boundary Waters than the lame subway system map - which is NONEXISTENT, by the way.
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Will and I celebrated 25 years of marriage and went to Italy. To experience absolutely jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring places together was truly magical. At times we exchanged a look that captured a similar thought. "Boy-howdy, our rural plain upbringings sure do feel far away," as we tried to decipher the menu, use the metric system, drive down a sidewalk, and use a bidet. These big adventures produced big realizations and we are happier because of them. | |
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Lucy is celebrating finishing the hardest math class ever taught at the College of Saint Benedict. In her second year there, she has settled into a schedule she can handle. She works at the college coffee shop, parties with her friends, hangs with the boyfriend, and studies in between. When she comes home to replenish, it's just for the basics: sleep, raid the refrigerator, wash clothes, and soak up quick snuggles. Lucy loves college life.
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Frannie stayed in Arizona another year after completing her volunteer year of JVC. She couldn't say goodbye to the connections she made to her students and her roommate, Ellen. Both Ellen and she were hired at St. Matthew's. She found herself loving the first big girl job she ever had: Social Worker Frannie...think Social Worker Barbie. Ellen and Frannie are also the boys basketball coaches and the cross-country coaches. Frannie has discovered bachelorette and bridal shower parties are her new favorite gatherings because they bring her back to her eleven-year-old self of girlfriends, daughter slumber parties, games, themes, party favors/prizes, and romance.
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Rosaleen is in her junior year of high school at Visitation. We are feeling the pressure of equipping her with what she needs to survive in adulthood. This includes practice
drives - which have progressed from
parking lots to freeways. It is thrilling to say the least. I have peppered our
car with bumper stickers "Please Be Patient. Student Driver" in an effort to warn others. She is probably overparented and hyper-criticized in
our last-ditch efforts in raising a daughter, but we plan to make amends by setting her up for years
of therapy.
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Domestic and international crises certainly bring our spirits down, but I remain hopeful in our collective resolve to make changes in whatever ways we are able. And on a personal level, we hope this season letter finds you well. Drop us a line, a visit, a picture, a post, a text, or whatever to stay connected. We love you and yours, and cherish the relationships we have.
With love,
Bridget and the rest of the Berigan clan (Will, Frannie, Lucy, and Rosaleen.)
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