Dear Friends,
Another year has zoomed by, and this Christmas seemed like
the one to try this method of greeting. Our house will be bulging for a
week this holiday season when family joins us. My mother will be coming
up from Florida, sister Jean and her daughter Michelle will come in from San
Francisco, and brother Jack, his wife Mary, and their daughter Hannah will
come from Nashville, Tennessee. Hopefully, John's mother will
again join us too for her birthday on Christmas Eve and the festivities of
Christmas Day. I'm not sure we have twelve pillows, but it will be
fun! None of my family lives in a snowy climate any longer, so we're
hoping for good weather for ice skating, snowmobiling and cross-country
skiing.
This year has really flown by, but we've done our fair
share of flying through it ourselves. 1983 was a year of travel. After
returning from Florida for Christmas in '82, John and I went to a telephone
convention in San Francisco in the spring . Then John took his yearly
10-day fishing trip in June, only they drove that 2400 miles. He
caught a 23 pound northern that presently hangs in our family room. It's
big! In August the five Bishops went to Glacier Park in Montana in order
to use up some free tickets from John's niece Debbie who was with Continental
Airlines. The timing was perfect -- after their strike and before their
bankruptcy. The scenery was magnificent, and the girls loved riding
horses. We also had some free tickets from Eastern, so in September Sara
and Shannon flew to see their grandma in Florida for a long weekend, and John
and I went to Curacao (where?) for a week in October. Curacao is an
island way south in the Caribbean, and it was a wonderfully relaxing
getaway. And now all our free tickets are used up, so next year we'll
see what the Midwest has to offer.
A big addition to our house last January was a piano.
Sara started right in on lessons then, and Shannon and I joined her in the
summer. Scheduling all that practice time was tricky! The girls
are still taking lessons -- one likes it, one doesn't -- and they have a commitment
to continue through sixth grade. We'll see! I intend to start
again after the holidays.
In addition to piano lessons, the girls both are in
Brownies and take dance - both activities together. Until this year I've
tried to keep them in separate activities, but perhaps they can develop their
individuality in other ways -- when I'm not chauffeuring. Jefferson goes
to nursery school 1/2 day a week, and Sunday School is his other big
activity. Life is delightful for Jefferson, and he spreads his sunshine over
all of us.
You know what a mess the entire telephone industry is in,
and that filters right down to Lakedale Telephone Company. John's work
this year has been chaotic and confusing, but he has managed to keep his sense
of humor ...most of the time. After all our travel in 1983, he has a
4-day trip to Las Vegas planned for January with 25 other men from
Annandale. That's his answer to the stressful situation -- fly away from
it all!
My work is still coordinating math and computers at the
elementary school, though the responsibilities have shifted more to the
computers this year. The main change is my schedule, still part
time (22 hours), but now 3 full days instead of 5 partial days which is better
both at school and at home.
So that's about it for the Bishops in 1983. How do
you like this new mass-produced greeting? If it's too impersonal, let me
know, and next year I'll Xerox one in longhand.
We wish you A Very Merry Christmas and all the best in
1984!
Love,
John, Jill,
Sara, Shannon, and Jefferson
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