Wyman Christmas Letter 2022

 Wyman Family Christmas Letter 2022

It was mentioned to me that keeping track of who is who every year is difficult because there are so many of us.  With that in mind, The Census, based on sons oldest to youngest: Jonathan, married to Heidi and has daughters Emily and Sarah, 15 and 11. They live in Goffstown; Ben, married to Jen last year, has lived outside of Houston for 16 years; John-Adrian, who everyone besides us calls JA or John, the older of the two Romanians who came in 2001 - married to Jocie, has lived in Nome for 12 years and they have three daughters: Aurora, 11, Quinn, 6, and Bella, almost 3; Chris, the younger Romanian, who moved to Tromsø, Norway in 2011 and lives with Maria; Kyle, our nephew who came to us in 2009 and now lives in Boston.

“Please Adopt Me”

This came in too late in 2021 to make it to last year’s Christmas letter, but Aurora seemed to have been quite impressed learning that she now has an aunt and uncle in Texas. Back in Nome with JA and Jocie and her two sisters, she somehow managed to sneak a message into her family Christmas card: “Dear Uncle Ben and Aunt Jen.  Please adopt me I don’t like blizzards and weather. Oh And have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.” Jocie is a TikTok celebrity in the Philippines with her site “Pinay Sa Alaska,” about the experience of being a Filipina in Alaska raising three daughters. She answers, “Does the ocean really freeze over?” by demonstrating, walking out onto the bay with the family and pulling up the crabs John-Adrian has caught. He also smokes a great deal of caught salmon and successfully finds gold with his detectors. She did have her account shut down briefly when the algorithm detected a violent episode with a large knife, which “violated community standards.”  It was JA cleaning a salmon.

“If My Kindergarten Teacher is Swearing at me…”

Tracy keeps track of many of her Sunday School students even decades later and is in touch with them to find out what needs prayer and what good counsel she can give. To one young man who puts off making appointments with the doctor, she was sterner than usual. “If my kindergarten teacher is swearing at me, I’d better get on this!” She does not usually use harsh language, but it seems to have worked.

 Nashville Bachelorettes

David’s decades-old fantasy football league had a live draft outside of Nashville, attended by about half the team managers. Of possible tourist attractions, we learned that the city is now one of the primary locations for weekend-long Bachelorette parties. We didn’t think the trip would be complete without seeing one of those groups.  We were not disappointed, as we saw one early when we changed in Baltimore, already in matching T-shirts and sneaking little nips. They held the two rows right in front of us on the plane. Noisy. Cheerful. We learned what their phrase “Rally Pants” means after texting it to our sons and having Kyle explain it to us. Such parties seem an extravagance, a waste of money.  Compared to flying to Nashville for a live fantasy football draft, you see.

Houston, We Have More Than One Problem

Ben’s job has been ripped apart by two controversies, and he has been one of the few left standing to keep things going and repair the damage. Jen has been close to both grandmothers, but one died this year and the other is in hospice. She has always had few relatives, and those few important. While it is true that in marrying Ben she acquired many brothers, nieces, and sisters-in-law, it’s not the same thing.  Aurora may not have found it a good year to be in Texas with them.

Last ones on the plane out of Copenhagen

We went to Copenhagen and Gothenburg and Chris came down to see us for the first time since 2019. We were hoping to meet Maria, but she had both schoolwork to complete her Masters and a job interview, so that will have to wait. We had adventures, including ancestral church graveyards in the snow and dark, narrow streets in old rather empty villages, a hotel that turned out to be a ship in harbor, and a full half-dozen Julmarkets. Tracy did not share in David and Chris’s glögg adventures. The guys chose not to go and see the Little Mermaid, which Tracy thought obligatory. Plus, of course, the usual “adventure” of navigating menus in foreign countries when you have ever-increasing dietary restrictions – and don’t like herring. Chris is very well, more cheerful and funny every year and still happy in Tromsø. We were warned that Swedes did not like spontaneous conversations with strangers, but David had many wide-ranging discussions. Immovable Object my foot.

Everyone Still Loves Kyle

Kyle has been meh about his job and even less enthused about his apartment in Boston, but he is focused on firefighter exams and working out. Things are looking up on all fronts. He remains humorous, especially playing off John-Adrian – though this is the first year that his section has not come with a punchline. We miss having him nearby, but he comes up to be favorite uncle often.

In Memory Yet Green

I (David) was spoiled by the reunions last year and have since tried to track down a few classmates to talk about a hundred subjects – I admit I do rather burst out of nowhere. It amazes me that people do not remember events and even more that they no longer consider them important. At the farthest extreme, I had a nice conversation with the boy I lived next door to until I was four, who still lives in the same house in Granby. I have found a few high school friends who I go once a month for lunch with, and I was explaining to one how a particular contact had gone badly. She smiled patiently. “David, you have to remember that these events happened a long time ago.” “No,” I shook my head. “They happened just yesterday.” I remember all your lovely voices and the clever things you said. After watching Emily in a  production of A Christmas Carol at the Palace I was prompted to wonder: Am I the Ghost of Christmas Past? That one is not always welcome. BTW, Emily has been in lots of plays this year, while Sarah has been busy with softball and rock-climbing. Not to mention youth group, band, piano, violin, school, etc. Busy girls. Their parents were raised this way and now pass it on.

It Must Have Been the Elbow Patches.

David attended an Inklings conference in North Carolina and asked many questions.  Apparently good questions, as when he corresponded with one of the presenters afterward, she asked if he would consider presenting at the New England conference in October. This is ludicrous, but it did feel nice to hear.  I’m going to wear the wool suitcoat with the elbow patches more often. 

Merry Christmas to All