Mother's Newsletter Blog: December 2024

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 158 DECEMBER 2024

Dear Readers,

In mid November my garden still had chrysanthemums and begonias in bloom and one of my lilac trees had a few new green leaves and some tiny flowers! We were enjoying another balmy fall in the midwest! In late October I flew to Orlando and the weather was very on par with that of Kansas City. However as amazing as the effects of climate change are nothing prepared me for the shock of November 5th when Trump was reelected President with a bigger mandate than he received in 2016, despite the fact that he is a convicted felon and has numerous criminal and civil charges pending.Trump would be hard pressed to be allowed to run for a seat on a school board anywhere in this country so it is hard to comprehend that we have elected such a man to the highest office in the land. Our weather has become much more erratic since the election - even snowfall over Thanksgiving and freezing temperatures! I dread to think how severe our weather may turn as we hope to weather another tempestuous Trump term.

On Thursday, October 24th, I flew on Southwest airlines to spend a few days with the Remsburgs in Orlando. Coincidentally Leslee-Ann was returning from a business trip on the West Coast that same day and arriving an hour ahead of me so that we could meet up and drive home together! Craig had flown in from Saudi Arabia from a two week work gig on the Monday that Leslee-Ann left Orlando but their flight times did not allow them to meet up but at least they had a parent at home to care for Ray and Calie!

Leslee-Ann texted me on landing to let me know that she would meet me near the escalators leading down to the baggage claim. Once my plane landed I followed Leslee-Ann’s instructions to our designated meeting spot and whilst searching the sea of passengers for my daughter an older lady asked me if she should take this escalator to baggage and I was happy to confirm that she was on the right track.. I then turned my attention back to finding Leslee -Ann. I finally spotted her, standing and frantically waving at me in a lounge area that was in the vicinity but not directly by the escalators! Of course I was berated for not realizing that meeting by the escalators meant the nearest seating area!. She wondered who the lady I was talking to was and seemed amazed that anyone would think her mother knew her way about the Orlando airport! She handed me a Chick Fil A bag with a much appreciated chicken sandwich for my supper which I ate in her car as we headed home

There were a lot of events scheduled for this last weekend before Halloween. During my stay we visited the pumpkin patch, where Ray and Callie selected a number of pumpkins and an especially big one for Craig to carve! They enjoyed bounce houses, carousels and a very smelly petting zoo! We all enjoyed blueberry /lemonade slushies !One evening we met up with some of their friends for dinner in Winter Park and spent a few hours enjoying the street fair entertainers and Halloween decorations! One of the highlights of my trp was watching Ray compete on his basketball team - Craig was team coach this year andt they were undefeated all season and won the championship match! I am sure Craig will have a lot of parents wanting their children on his team next season!

Ray makes a basket!

Ray ready to make another basket!

Enjoying our blueberry/ lemonade slushies!

Ray enjoyng a carousel ride

Ray and Callie picking out pumpkins!

Grandma enjoying Ray and Callie!

Interestingly enough on my return trip I was again asked for my help at the Orlando airport! I assisted a couple in line at airport security who did not understand the shuttle boarding system and made sure they got on the right one for their gate. I could well understand their confusion!

The security lines are brutal with long waits, workers barking orders about separating your shoes, electronics, purses and anything metal into its own bin which results in most passengers trying to load at least three bins, and their carry on luggage onto the conveyor belt at breakneck speed before they pass through the scanner with the possibility of a pat down as soon as they step out! Then comes the off loading of all your stuff , the stacking of your bins and your barefoot walk to a place where you can safely put your feet into your shoes again! And all this has to be done as quickly as possible to avoid holding up the line! I even bought a pair of Sketchers that look like regular lace ups but are guaranteed to slip on and off your feet whilst standing upright! . One can see why passengers love airport bars! I would probably benefit from a shot of something myself but of course being phobic about using the toilets on a plane I restrict my liquids and make a trip to the ladies shortly before boarding!

Sarah and Sean very graciously hosted Thanksgiving again this year! Sarah’s parents had flown in from Boston that morning just ahead of the terrible storms that hit the East coast. Their kitchen has a very large seating capacity so all seventeen of us could sit together! Marc had also decided to join us for the Thanksgiving holiday earlier in the week in preference to being alone in Los Angeles after learning that Bryn was spending the holiday with his girlfriend Gabby’s parents in Arizona and that Blake was going to Indianapolis !

Thanksgiving was also Cillian's 2nd Birthday!

Coryn and Jeremy serving ice-cream and cake

Liam putting in his order

Ava trying to decide between apple or pumkin pie!

Owen, Kay, Richard and Cindy

Alex,Ava Claire, Lochlan, Cilian and Liam patiently awaiting their cake and ice cream!

For once I didn’t need to make two round trips to the airport to pick Marc up and drop him off - his flight here was a redeye that arrived at five o’clock in the morning so I told him to take an Uber to my house as I don’t function in the middle of the night! It so happened that his lawyer friend, with whom he worked in LA, who now lives in North Kansas City offered to pick him up: they still work on cases together and he needed some legal paperwork from Marc. They had breakfast together and exchanged pleasantries over their pancake stacks but forgot to exchange the stack of paperwork! Thus Marc’s lawyer friend offered to pick him up and drive him back to the airport the following week - this time I made a judgement call and appointed myself to witness the document exchange!

Unfortunately the weather for the week of Marc’s visit was freezing cold with snowfall which resulted in hazardous driving conditions on the Saturday that Kay had invited me and her mother-in-law, Lisa, to a Cirque du Soleil Christmas show at the Music Theater in downtown Kansas City with dinner at an Italian restaurant to follow. I had planned to drive over to Kay’s house so that the three of us could drive together and hopefully find a parking spot. However the roads were so bad that Sean texted me and advised me not to drive. He volunteered to drive over so Marc could spend time with his family while I was gone Lisa didn’t think she would be able to drive over from Lawrence either but fortunately the interstates were cleared of snow and car wrecks by early afternoon so her husband Mike drove her to Bonner Springs where Richard, Kay and Alex picked her up and then drove to my house to pick me up! Qudos to Richard for volunteering to drive us around and babysit Alec at the Crown Center while we enjoyed the show!

The streets were clogged with snow and cars - unbeknown to us the time of our show coincided with a live red carpet premiere of the Hallmark Christmas Movie set in Kansas City based on the romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce! We waited through several red light changes trying to make a left turn but only one car was trickling through the intersection jam packed with slush and vehicles. We elected to exit the car and make our way on foot through the ice and slush to our venue! Kay had made the wise decision to cancel our dinner plans and instead pick up dinner from a great Italian restaurant just a convenient block from my home - which we ate in my dining room! Without Richard at the wheel we would probably have aborted our outing!

Kay and Richard have been very busy this fall: they bought a fixer upper house in Leawood, rented their former house in Prairie Village , and have been going through in vitro fertilization procedures in hopes of having a healthy child without the Braca gene..And as if they were not already busy enough they are spending a two week Christmas break in Singapore! I wish them luck with Alex! I cannot imagine containing him on a plane for a twenty hour flight! Luckily Richard’s parents are making the trip too so there will be four adults to hopefullyAC keep Alex entertained!

Jeremy recently took Ava Claire and Owen on a skiing trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. Unfortunately Coryn could not join them due to work commitments! Apparently it was a spur of the moment decision to join Sheryl and Grant who were vacationing there.

Josh is somewhere in Central or South America, Ming-Jon is still job searching, and Lori and Claudia are staying home for the holidays this year .Marc may get together with Blake for Christmas - depending on his work schedule at Space X.

This Friday Night we will be celebrating Emmy Lou’s 6th birthday at my house with pizza and ice cream cakes! On Christmas Eve I will be hosting my Kansas City family with a sumptuous feast, most of which will probably be sourced from the frozen food aisles at the Hyvee grocery store !

I purchased a new Christmas tree this year as my old one was fifteen years old and shedding green plastic needles so badly that some of the branches were looking very bare! I went to four stores in quest of finding a tree that I liked as much as my old one when it was brand new with working lights! I looked at Lowes, Menards, Home Depot and Hobby Lobby but there was not much selection in nine foot or taller trees so I finally risked ordering one from the National Tree Company on Amazon. It is actually as big as my previous tree, possibly a foot taller due to the large tree stand, but the branches are not as full and it took me over five hours to fluff all the fake pine needles out because they were packed down so tightly. However it comes pre-lit with a lot of color and motion choices. Cillian and Lochlan love pushing the button to change the display - I just hope it does not get stuck on one of the more garish colored, seizure inducing light flashing modes! On one of our warmer days I decorated my porch, including covering a couple of tomato cages in green garland, poinsettias and lights.All that's left to do is stuffing the children's stockings, placing the presents under the tree and enjoying my beautiful family this holiday season! Love Mother

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!