Zachary worked some magic / voodoo and is suddenly able to graduate in May - a year earlier than expected. He has already accepted a full-time job offer, which is amazing, but... the job is back in Maryland where he completed his co-ops. We knew he planned to move there, but thought we had a whole additional year with him at home. It pains me that he is moving to a higher cost of living area, but he's very money-smart so I'm confident that he'll start off on the right foot.

Zack was in Maryland from January through August, and we are happy to have him back! Since he's been home we have enjoyed a few visits from his girlfriend Sarrah, who is delightful, and I’m not just saying that because she said that she and I have similar personalities! She actually drags him out of his room and gets him to spend time with us, which is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sarrah!

Zack continues to spend copious amounts of time coding and attending events like hackathons and capture the flag cyber competitions. He’s always teaching himself new coding skills and recently was one of the few college students in the country to successfully complete a government sponsored reverse engineering code analysis challenge. Do you have any idea what that means? We have no clue, but were very happy for him! Zack is planning to begin his master’s degree in cyber security once he gets settled in his new job.

Jackie turned 16 this year and is in 11th grade. She has embraced her new freedom as a licensed driver and putters around town in her beloved green VW Beetle named Trent. Unfortunately Trent is a money pit so we don’t have the same love for him that Jackie does, but he’s been fairly repair free for a while now (knock on wood). Jackie participated in marching band again, and managed to remain injury free for the entire season! She wanted to work over the summer and took a job at the local amusement park, full-time. She would arrive home with very interesting and colorful stories about how families interact after a long, hot day of fun.

This year Jackie was officially diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is a connective tissue disorder. It causes chronic pain which we are attempting to mitigate, with little success so far. Some days are hard but Jackie has great determination and drive, and works hard to accomplish her goals – like participating in marching band and working a job where she was on her feet for 9 hours at a time.

Her sense of humor continues to evolve and grow – the sarcasm is strong with this one. She’s the first person I’ve ever seen who can actually match Peter’s sense of humor. Is that a good thing? Hmmmm….. She keeps us laughing and has found a nice group of friends who appreciate the same humor. She has strong opinions on hot-button topics, and asks a lot of questions to find out more information. There is never a dull moment while watching the nightly news with her!

Peter has been working on a big family project this year - the scanning and restoration of hundreds of photos from the 60’s through the 90’s, which mostly seem to be of his older brother Joe, and some of his sister Kathy. Of the 7 photos of himself (not including Peter photo bombs where he “appears” in pictures featuring the family favorite Joe), Peter has been reminded of, and reliving, some repressed childhood trauma. There is one photo in particular which seems to envoke the most fear. It’s a story so dark it makes Peter’s now infamous little league story seem like a day at the park.

Those of you who know Peter are undoubtedly thinking, why oh why would his parents allow their child to hold such a vile, disease-ridden animal? You can almost see the salmonella jumping from the chicken on to Peter. Well, the story goes like this: Peter was 4 and with his family in France, staying with some distant cousins in a rural area. With no access to TV, wifi or even basic LTE services this poor child resorted to playing around the family farm where he befriended a loving chicken, Mr. Pickles. Peter played for hours with Mr. Pickles, embracing his French farm roots. Everywhere the chicken went, there was Peter. As afternoon approached, the adults decided it was time to prepare dinner and Mr. Pickles was then ripped from Peter’s arms. Mr. Pickles, a poor defenseless chicken, was drowned in a barrel of water right in front of Peter's tear-filled eyes. His glorious plumes were pulled from his lifeless body (the chicken’s, not Peter’s). As it happened, chicken was on the dinner menu that night. As Peter sat in front of his plate, quietly sobbing to himself, he could only think of the fun he and his friend had earlier that day, who he was now forced to eat. What about that picture of Peter on those dangerous looking rocks of the Green Mountain state you ask? Well, moments after that picture was taken, an unattended 4 year old Peter received 17 stiches on his chin... but that's a trauma for another day.

When not seeing his therapist, Peter spends countless hours with his salt water aquarium. Thanks to his fancy water filtration system, he delights in the fact that his fish swim in better water than his family drinks. Peter currently suffers from night terrors where he thinks his French cousins have come to cook up his fish friends for dinner.

After enojying my switch to first grade, I have continued in the same position this year. Starting on the very first day of school I begin to convince my class that they are the best-behaved class in the school. Most days they live up to that expectation! Good behavior makes teaching and learning much easier. My team is awesome and keeps me laughing on the days that don’t go well (and the days that do).

I continue to binge podcasts in my spare time. For years I've listened almost exclusively to financial podcasts (Dave Ramsey, ChooseFI), but recently I’ve started to branch out to true crime (Dr. Death, Dirty John, Detective Trapp) and comedy/interview ones (Armchair Expert, You Made it Weird). I joke that I can never be alone with my own thoughts, so if I’m by myself you are sure to find me with earbuds in, listending to a podcast to distract me from obsessing about things.

This year I attended my 30th high school reunion. I know what you are thinking - I really can't be that old. I'm always struck by the differences of graduating with less than 100 kids in my class and knowing everyone, to our kids graduating with about 650 (and that's just in one of the two high schools in our large district). I guess there is good and bad in both situations, but it was certainly nice to catch up with some friendly faces from my youth.

Zoey is slowing down as she gets older and sleeping more, which was already an excessive amount. She loves Jackie the most, and Peter comes in a distant second. Zoey makes friends with anyone who comes to the door and is truly a delightful cat. We don't know her exact age since we adopted her as an adult cat, but she's estimated to be around 12 years old. She has brief moments of playfulness but prefers to snuggle. We are currently breaking her of a habit of begging at the table. There have been a few particularly desperate moments when she has launched herself right onto the table! What can I say, this cat loves to eat.

Well, that's the latest with us. What's new with you? We would love to hear from you! Or better yet, let us know if you're ever out our way - we love visitors - and you could be featured in next year's newsletter!

Best wishes for a wonderful, happy & healthy 2020!

Love,
Peter, Charlotte, Zachary & Jackie

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