2004
Welcome to our Year in Review (f.k.a. the Christmas letter).
This year began with lots of hate mail and negative feedback regarding last year's Christmas letter (now known as the "Year in Review") so we know we're on to something. If half the people hate what you're doing, but the other half of the people hate the people that hate what you're doing, so they support you no matter how stupid they think you are, then you should stay the course. You should claim victory. And run for President.
This year also began with tons of snow. The only good thing about snow is that it looks pretty from afar, and the dog only tracks in snow instead of mud. Well, that's two things. The bad thing about snow, or, rather, among the bad things about snow, which includes ice, shoveling, cold, slipping, and slush, is that snow covers the dog's business in the yard which is a real mess when it thaws.
In April, we took another really long drive as a family, visiting Mickey's brother and mother in Florida. Margaret is still living with Allie and his family. We celebrated Easter with them. Think kindly of them as they had a tough go with the hurricanes this fall.
The remainder of the year is summarized as follows:
Steve and I spent a lot of hours during the winter and early spring remodeling the bathroom at the cottage. Most of this was without the furnace, which needed to be replaced. We also put the kitchen back together. This was in anticipation of Allie and his family staying there during the summer with Mom. It is educational to take out a wall to replace a bathtub.Alex played winter soccer indoors and spring soccer outdoors on two teams and loved it. Actually, it was three teams, one of which was a development program that traveled for games, which ultimately meant it was a huge pain in the ass getting him to practice and to the games. But it was mostly fun.Emily played softball in summer. The highlight, at least for the author of this letter, was getting into a shouting match with the coach of an opposing team. The guy was an idiot; I doubt he even writes a Christmas letter (or a Year in Review letter) but if he does, I wonder if that incident made the cut.Alex played kid-pitch baseball. The author of this letter was a coach, but also a frequent umpire, rekindling dreams of yesteryear.Visited family in Wisconsin during the summer. We did the big circle tour of Lake Michigan, going through Chicago on the way there. We first visited Jane in Arcadia, then Bruce in Eau Claire, before going to Athens. We also went North to the Baumann cottage on a lake, which is always a blast. Mickey was treated to a surprise 40th birthday party, which is hitting below the belt. We returned to Michigan through the U.P.We built a fence in the backyard to better contain the dog. A 440' fence is one hell of a big project to take on part time, and dragged out to the end of August. I don't recommend building them, but it's nice to have if you're a fence kind of person with dogs. This author, having been raised with fences for the dog, is a fence person with a dog.Allie brought his family and our mother for a visit. Allie helped with the aforementioned fence, which was huge. Allie then took our kids to our cottage and to Cedar Point.Alex played soccer in the fall, and was on a team with serious success. They won their division, and really came together as a team. Probably has more than a little to do with not being coached by his father.High-tailed it out to Allentown in October to visit Stuart and Lisa and their newborn. On the way, visited Mickey's Aunt Gizella and Mickey's cousins, and adopted their dog Max who seemed to take a liking to Alex and Emily. Not that the backyard didn't have enough business, but we had just lost a cat, and we already had the fence, so it was a win win. We tried to get them in the Christmas pictures, but the two mutts wouldn't pose at the same time.October closed with a bang when our six-and-half year old street was given its final coat of paving. Our neighbor, Tom, was instrumental in nagging and researching this. It seemed that the original builder of the subdivision absconded with the money for the road when he went bankrupt. It turned out that the County Road Commission basically forgave them the money. It tooks numerous phone calls, political pressure, and a tacit threat of exposure to the news media, but the Road Commission finally did it. Quite the lesson in local politics, and makes one understand how the use of warlords in Afghanistan can be so effective.Thanksgiving family tour included Wisconsin this year, which we haven't done in a while. It was a great visit. I mean, not to overdo it with superlatives, but nobody got sick, we didn't have an accident, and we avoided the horrible weather in Chicago by driving through the Superior State (the Upper Penninsula) again.No one has bought Mickey's novel yet (yes, again). He finished the second one, is sending out queries, and has started a third.Emily is in the chorus of a local musical play, now in rehearsal for a late January opening. It's a community, adult theatre. Emily is one of three children in the cast. She sings and dances in five numbers, and is having fun doing it.Mary, who will be the "Stage Mom" for the kids in Emily's play, is meanwhile still cranking away on software for the State when she's not taking Emily to a dance class, singing class, or a rehearsal. Mickey is on a new project at a different State agency, helping to redesign their business, and hoping to be involved in writing the software in 2005.Hope all is well with all who read this. God bless you, everyone.
We remain,
The Hadicks: Mickey, Mary, Alex, and Emily