2010

Merry Christmas!

It’s not even February and I’m starting the Christmas letter. It will be February in about 2 1/2 hours, but I’m still pretty proud of myself. I usually have to let the last year marinate a bit longer before I’m ready to tackle my annual State of the Willis address. But it just seems right.

January

It was really a pretty good month for a January. The Colts were working their way to another Super Bowl. I got to go to the AFC Championship game and as soon as the game was over, Indianapolis started a 2 week party. The whole city was football crazy. Everyone in town was all giggles and smiles! You could just feel the excitement in the air. It was electric. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe everyone was just eager with anticipation of Emily’s 22nd birthday. Yeah, sorry. My bad. That’s what all the excitement was about.

February

I am proud to write a non-traditional Christmas letter. Sure, I’ll tell you all of the good stuff that happened, but you people are my friends. You need to know the dirty little secrets that shape this family too. So here goes. The Colts lost the Super Bowl to the New Orleans Saints. Now I know a bunch of people believe it was a good thing. The crowning glory of a city that fought back from a terrible situation, united behind their team. A powerful symbol, a phoenix if you will, rising from the mud and destruction, showcasing a bright and promising future. Well, those people are stupid. It was a football game, and the Colts should have won. But I’m not bitter.

March

This was an exciting month for the ladies of the family. Emily adopted a stray cat during the first semester. Brought the thing home over Christmas and meant to get it fixed before returning to school. Did you pick up on the “meant to”? She spent the rest of the semester hiding mamma cat and seven kittens in her university apartment. Sarabeth celebrated a birthday also this month, her 17th. Unlike the kittens, we plan on keeping her. As you can guess from the photo to the left, Jane finally decided that if she was ever going to run competitively again she had better get started. I didn’t even know she had any eligibility left. I’m really proud of her. I mean, I knew she could do it but I didn’t think they’d have her run the anchor leg!

April

Nothing happened this month. Anybody want a kitten? No really, I’m not kidding. There’s still one here at the house that I’m not all that fond of. Free!

May

This was a big month for us. It was prom time for Sarabeth. This is probably my favorite photo of the 700 or so that we shot. There was a boy of some sort involved. Really a nice kid. But since he’s not related to any of you I really don’t feel bad about cropping him out of the photo. Isn’t she beautiful? When I see that smile it almost makes me think the money we spent on the dress, the shoes, hair, makeup and everything else was worth it. Almost. Emily also had a chance to get all dressed up this month. She graduated from Wittenberg University with her degree in Communication. I am very proud of her! My sister Marky met us for the ceremony. Thanks for the support Marky. It was outside. It was nasty hot. As I sat there sweating, all I could think about was how I couldn’t believe my daughter was graduating from college. Has it really been 4 years? Didn’t she just graduate from high school? Or was that middle school? How did she get to be an almost grownup already? Wait a minute! Did I grow up too? Am I old? I need some answers! Luckily, I have nearly 100 pages of old Christmas letters that document all of the events listed above. Yes, Emily is 22. She never got that pony she wanted for her birthday. She has made it all the way from daycare, middle school and high school graduations and now a college graduation. Sarabeth is right behind her. And it has been confirmed. I am old.

June

Sarabeth finished her junior year of high school. And a few days later started working at the daycare. She really enjoys this job. And this year she was given a bit more responsibility. Not only did she have to deal with the kids all day long, she had to deal with the parents too. I really think she learned a lot this summer. I also think she enjoyed the kids more than their parents. As you can see, her class reflected the attitude of their teachers. As Sarabeth was heading to daycare, Emily was heading to Phoenix. Those of you that have pulled out last years letter from your wall safe to review in preparation of reading this years edition will remember Emily’s boyfriend Jeff. He has a teaching job in Phoenix. That is what prompted Em to head that direction. She got a job out there working for an on-line university. And oddly enough, not the one from Phoenix you would expect. So she had to get herself and her car and all her stuff to Arizona. So I jumped in the passenger seat and we headed west. We have never attempted a road trip of that magnitude before. We learned a lot on that trip. Indy to St. Louis was old hat. Corn, corn, corn, big cross, corn, corn, soybean, big river and you’re there. But from St. Louis on was a new adventure. Let’s talk about Branson, MO. All I know about Branson I learned from billboards. Did you know Branson is home to the worlds only live stage presentation that celebrates the lives of the cats lost on the Titanic? The billboards made it seem like such a wonderful place. Home to every celebrity you thought was already dead. We made it to Tulsa the first day. Our destination the 2nd day was Albuquerque. That stretch of road brought up a number of questions. You would drive for hours and see nothing but sand and scrub brush. Note photo to the right. And every so often there would be some sort of little town. And I would see the little town and wonder what pioneer pulled on the reins, stopped his covered wagon right there and said, “This is it. This is where I want to live!” And then he said, “Someday my great, great grandson can deal Blackjack in an Indian casino on this very spot!” Albuquerque to Phoenix was the best part of the trip. Everything from deserts to thick pine forests and mountains and valleys. A beautiful part of the country. I wish we could have spent some extra time there, but we needed to get to Phoenix. So we got there, got Emily all set up and I jumped on a plane for an easier trip home. The month ended with a trip to see a bunch of my favorite people in North Carolina. It was supposed to be a business trip, but it seemed more like a family reunion. Hey yall!

July

Sometime after the first of the month it was decided that Phoenix wasn’t going to work out. Time for another big road trip. Just re-read all the stuff I wrote above, except read it backwards. Same trip, just started in Phoenix this time. But the good news is that we made it back just in time for Willis on the Water II. All of the Willis siblings and almost all of their kids were there. We rented some cabins at Brookville Lake in SE Indiana. We did all of the stuff that families do when they get together. We went out on the boats and spent an afternoon floating in the water. We ate a bit then floated some more. We listened to music and told stories around the campfire. Drank beer and played corn hole. (As if you could do one without the other.) And we ate some more. Pretty much just did all the things we enjoy doing. The one thing different we did this time was focus an inordinate amount of attention on Avery, the newest addition to our family. She would be the little bitty one in the photo on the far right. Wearing the pink. See her? Cute huh? I now have a sister that is a grandmother. I guess it happens to the best of them. She seems to be adapting to this roll without much trouble though.

August

Somewhere way too early in the month Sarabeth started her senior year in high school. Time to get serious with college visits and all that stuff. At least we have had practice so it should be a little easier this time around. Once again I start trying to figure out how my daughter grew up so quickly. The 14th came around and Jane and I celebrated our 34th anniversary. If you ask me, I’d have to say that’s pretty neat. And I’d like to think Jane would agree. Emily is now working full time at the daycare and saving her money for weekends in Phoenix. August is also State Fair time here in Indiana. And Jane always gets nostalgic for the old days when she was a 4H superstar from Greensburg and her family used to spend a week living in the sheep barn at the fair every year. So we have family day at the fair. About all I can really do is show you some pictures. Even I can’t write more than a sentence or two about deep fried chocolate dipped Twinkies on a stick. Oh, and do me a favor. Don’t tell Jane that the cute little fuzzy thing she is holding turns into a chicken when it grows up!

September

Really nothing to say about this month. Jane had a birthday. We are all happy she did, but that’s really all that needs to be said about that. So I guess I’ll use this space to tell you a couple of things that don’t really fit anywhere else. Have you noticed a lack of soccer references in this letter? Sarabeth played club soccer in the spring and started summer conditioning with the high school team. A few weeks later she realized it wasn’t fun anymore. It’s supposed to be fun. So she quit. And it ended up being the most fun of any soccer season in her high school career! It is weird though. Emily started playing soccer when she was six or seven. The last sixteen Christmas letters have been full of soccer stories. The end of an era. But I’m still playing tennis and bowling. Year round USTA leagues, clinics and club tournaments keep me on the court about three times a week. I was bumped from 3.5 to 4.0 this year. It just means I am getting beaten by a better class of player this year. My average in bowling is as high as it’s ever been. I strike fear in the hearts of those 80-year-old ladies I face every week in my church league.

October

I love this month. All sorts of fun things always happen in October. The weather is slightly crisp; the leaves are starting to fall.  Unless you are in Las Vegas. And I was in Vegas for my birthday. No big deal. I just happened to be there for work during my birthday which just gave me an excuse to party a little bit. And I did. But telling you all about the fun I had in Vegas isn’t what this letter is all about. It’s about sharing my life experiences with you, so that you may be able to pick up a few suggestions that make your life easier. It’s all about education. So let me educate you about Roulette. Since I was playing on my 55th birthday, it seemed like the smart thing to do was put a bunch of money on the #55. OK, that’s not a good idea since there is no #55 on a roulette wheel, but there is a #5 which seemed close enough. So here is Roulette Rule #1. When you start putting chips on a certain number spin after spin, don’t stop until you win or you are broke. Because the one time that you change your pattern and try something different, your number will hit. And there is a good chance you will start to cry right there at the table. That brings us to Roulette Rule #2. As soon as someone that has been playing the same number spin after spin gets up and leaves the table in disgust, quickly put a bunch of your chips on his abandoned number. See rule 1. It just makes sense. And Roulette Rule #3 is that sometime while you are playing, some girl will walk up, put a handful of chips on one random number, probably not even her birthday or anything else important, and hit. And when they get ready to pay her off they realize that the bottom chip of the stack was a $25 chip and that the payoff was right around $1000. And they will give her the chips and she will look at you and ask, in a Russian accent, “What does this mean?” Then you will explain that it is a good thing and tell her how to cash in her chips for real American money. Roulette Rule #3 may not actually be a rule, but it could happen to you…too. Also while in Vegas I had a chance to spend time with my good friend John from NC. Nothing special, we just sat around and talked like old friends. Well actually, I guess it was special. I came back and worked for a couple of days and then the family headed to Brown County for a few days in the woods. This was the first time in years that we were all there at one time. Since we do this every year and we do all of the exact same things every year and I write about it in the Christmas letter every year, why don’t I just show you some photos? That one to the left is Emily, not the Russian girl from Vegas.

November

Thanksgiving. That’s about it for this month. It’s all kind of cold and gray. We don’t have Christmas or pretty snow or anything. All we can do is wait for Thanksgiving. And this year it was worth the wait. We got together with Jane’s family at her brother Jon’s house here in Indy. There were 14 of us. We had a great time. Lots of great food and plenty of couch time after the food. What a perfect way to end November. Actually, that sounds like a pretty good way to end about any month. I’m sure I can always come up with a few things I’m thankful for every 30 days or so. Sounds like a good idea to me. 12 Thanksgivings a year! Sometime after that it started snowing. And it hasn’t stopped yet.

December

This was a really busy month. And it was all done in the snow. We started the Christmas season by meeting Randy and Marybeth here in Indy to watch their daughter, our niece, Carrie sing with her choir as they performed with “The Lettermen”. Remember them? One of the 3 guys was an original! Good enough for me. They sounded great, especially with Carrie singing background. The weekend before Christmas, we all headed to Columbus, OH for our Willis Christmas. Just about everyone in the immediate family was there. Those that weren’t had a good excuse and will be prominently mentioned in next years Christmas letter. Most of us just drove across one state line to get to Ohio. Teresa came in from California; Megan came from Dakar, Senegal. It was a pretty fun time, but I don’t know if it was that much fun. We did the basic eat, drink and tell stories stuff that we did back in July but this time we got to open gifts at the end! Cool. The next day we all had brunch and this part of the Willis family spent most of the afternoon in Columbus finishing our Christmas shopping. Because we all know that the further from home a store is, the better the shopping experience. Or so I’ve been told. We headed home and a week later it was Christmas in Indianapolis. Santa came to our house and we sat in the living room and opened our gifts like we’ve done every year for the last couple of decades. And I have another 8 minutes of video that I might watch with my grandkids some day. It was a good year. Hope yours was just good and that 2011 is even better!

By the way, the boys are fine and send their regards. The evening before we left for Christmas in Columbus, Kirby got into a little bit of trouble. Our house will never be the same. I have photos of it all but it is not really Christmas letter material. It’s more of a short story kind of thing. But next time you see one of us ask about Kirby’s big adventure. That’s all.

Wayne

Jane

Emily

Sarabeth