Greetings fellow earthlings!

Recently a good friend of ours turned six (as did his brother). At the party, he made an accurate prediction, and I said “you’re prophetic!” And just like Psych, he took it as an insult and retorted,  “You’re prophetic!” Indeed I am. At the close of last year’s letter, I made these prescient forecasts: Jordan and Hailey would visit relatives in Vegas; she would snowboard and he would play indoors; Israel’s 75 th anniversary would be “interesting”; sports would profit a few; peace on earth would be dubious. Check, check, check, check, check … (tragically in some cases).

Looking back on the rest of 2023, here’s what happened. Brooke and Hannah planned a great Scandinavian adventure for the latter’s 30 th birthday, but back surgery for Brooke scuttled that. Then they planned a fall Broadway escape. A day before departure, Brooke got Covid, so Hannah  enjoyed NYC alone. I’ll let you imagine how the elder sister felt about this sequence of events.

Maria and I visited Jordan and Hailey in western Idaho in April, visited nice places and ate out a few times, and then Maria got Covid. She blames me and Texas Roadhouse. Her case was mild, but after months of lagging lung capacity and elevated heartrate, her doctor welcomed her to “the long Covid zone.” This is a blow to her planned athletic comeback (she’d so wanted relive her little-league success at first base or try a 5k, but not now). She is also a bit of a hermit and wears a mask when she appears in public. If this seems extreme, recall that even the paranoid have enemies. She was brave enough to open our home to professionals who installed new cabinets (love them), countertops (like them), and appliances (hate them) in the kitchen. We handled demo (mostly).

Professionally, Brooke provides speech therapy for elementary school children; Hannah heads the state of Utah’s public art investments; Jordan and Hailey continue to work remotely from their three-cat-house, the envy of the apartment-renting sisters. John continues to teach “emerging young adults” at BYU-Idaho; he may be replaced at any moment by an AI-powered virtual tutor and mentor. He edited and contributed to a book that came out this year about religious liberty and the Latter-day Saints (that’s pretty close to the title if you want to buy it; no royalties for him). Maria is not getting paid but continues to provide high-end childcare for two kindergartners and one preschooler, a few times a week. She also reads and reviews dozens of novels, some of which she receives gratis as ARCs (advance reader copies), so she’s in the inner circle of the literary scene.

It's a been a mild summer and fall in our part of Idaho, but as I write the snow is gently falling. Last winter was unnecessarily cold and snowy, but John made the most of it by cross-country skiing. Maria also made the most of it by curling up near the fire with all those books. John took up disc golf this summer, which is so much less expensive and aggravating than actual golf. He also likes swimming regularly, though when the university shut its pool for seven weeks he had to get creative. Most of us enjoyed a few days in Park City this summer. John also backpacked the magnificent Teton Crest trail with neighbors and had several other great hikes in the Teton range. Some members of the family, most notably Maria and Brooke, do not appreciate the value of hiking, but look who’s healthy? (Hope that doesn’t come back to bite me.) We’re hoping there is enough snow to give our family a white Christmas when they gather, but not so much to complicate the gathering. Then we hope for enough snow that John can venture out on skis instead of annoying Maria, but not so much that he wears out his back shoveling. It’s all about balance, right? You can see our commitment to life balance by comparing the lines devoted to John’s recreation vs. those for pretty much everyone and everything else. With prophetic insight you may discern the balance.

No predictions for 2024, unless it’s the demise of the republic, the corruption of college sports, or  something else along those lines. May your Christmas be merry and bright as you remember the Light of the world.