2022 Christmas Letter
Our letter this year is not our normal letter filled with cheer and laughter. This letter is more of a celebration of life, for this past year one member of our family has departed from us to what we sincerely believe is a better place.
The year began normally enough, with no warning of the impending void that would come upon our happy house, having only the usual risks and hazards. Ethan (15 at the time) bought his first car with his own money, introducing a mixture of trepidation and joy to his parents. They saw he would now be unrestrained on the road, but it didn’t cost them any money. Riana, however, promptly evacuated and fled east to ‘help’ her aunt Susanna, or so she claimed. After a few weeks with no tragedies, her fears subsided and she returned. Through it all Larissa carried on in her sweet and gentle way, continuing her monthly ritual of applying the electric shears towards the quest of taming the boys’ heads. We had no idea how soon the ritual would come to a close.
February added hazards with Lish joining Titus and Danielle in a hunter’s ‘safety’ class, where students are taught and encouraged to handle wickedly dangerous firearms.
As if that was not enough, Titus went on expeditions with his grandpa and cousins, spending several days on the treacherous lake ice in howling winds and sub-freezing temperatures, risking his life in an effort to catch a meal using nothing but a pole, line, and barbed hook. Meanwhile, Larissa faithfully continued her college studies, often doing her homework in her cozy bedroom without any idea how soon she would leave that bedroom for good.
In fact, it was the very next month that she braved the threat of spring blizzards and icy roads, undeterred by the travel dangers, seeking to bring birthday cheer for her aunt Bethany. Traveling in solidarity with her was her mom, her sisters, and youngest brother. Ethan remained at home, enduring the risks of his new job, which, similar to all construction jobs, included risks of injury, dismemberment, death, and even worse.
A massive snowfall interrupted the quietness of April and shut down the region, swallowing cars and driveways alike. Larissa joined Riana in a battle against the elements, bravely fighting a snowblower crusade to deliver our cars and driveway from the frozen grip of the frigid whiteness. Perhaps she sensed it was one of her last opportunities to bond with her sister over shoveling our driveway.
It was May that brought harbingers of the great changes that would impact our lives forever. The beginning of the month focused on preparations for the beginning stages of Riana’s transition into adulthood when she would kiss her schoolbooks goodbye forever, and with her friend, Evelyn, throw a graduation party that rocked the local park. Friends and family came from all around the region to join in celebration, most of whom were completely oblivious of the impending event that would start in motion the sequence that would leave a great void in our house. Only a few days after they all left, it happened. Fighting off a small case of nervousness, Truston held out a ring, and Larissa said yes.
In early June, Lish, realizing that Larissa would be with us for only three short months, took her and Riana on a mother-daughter road trip to Michigan. On the way, they detoured to Nithya’s wedding and saw visions of what would soon be upon us. In Michigan, they experienced Intents with Ann, a timely time full of hands-on instruction for young ladies in how to establish a godly home. In mid-June, Ethan, realizing that Larissa wouldn’t be leaving us for another three months, took his buddy Jack on a road trip to the woods of Story Book Camp for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Titus and Danielle, not realizing much of anything, won a stack of ribbons with their 4-H projects.
July saw some of us trying to cope with the coming void from Larissa’s soon departure. Danielle filled her hutches with a bunch of baby bunnies from her rabbits. Titus got an accordion, which created a whole new issue for the rest of us to cope with. Riana got a stick-shift car and ground the gears until she felt better. While the rest of us were at Bunkhouse Camp in Wisconsin, Ethan bought a sweet modified 2007 Ford Mustang. Caleb thought the car could help him cope with coming void too, but Ethan wouldn’t give him the keys.
August came. The month that closed with one less Bulow than it started. Friends and relatives came from all over to help us celebrate the occasion. The wedding day was sunny and hot, and the outdoor ceremony was short and beautiful. It was a most wonderful celebration. In the days after the guests had returned home, we tried to cope with the sudden void in the house. But Ethan knew just how to fill the void. No sooner had the taillights of the nuptial ride disappeared into the sunset than Ethan yelled, ‘Dibs on Larissa’s room!’ and promptly moved all his stuff into her abandoned bedroom. With the void taken care of, he, Danielle, and Titus began another school year, while Riana, being graduated, did not.
September was a month of harvest. Titus harvested his three rows of wheat in the garden, and threshed, and winnowed, all by hand. Danielle harvested her patch of yellow watermelon and savored each one. Lish harvested tomatoes from 28 plants. Titus harvested his first deer. Riana quit her job as a barista and took on piano students. She also made and sold dozens of jars of chokecherry syrup from buckets of chokecherries that Caleb harvested.
By October, the feeling of a void in the house had all but vanished. In fact, Caleb and Lish felt a need to escape the chaos into the solitude of the Black Hills for a long weekend of anniversary. They returned home feeling much refreshed. Then Riana decided to incubate two dozen fertilized eggs in her bedroom. Successfully. Cheep cheep. Titus declared that “chicks are cute.”
November was hunting season. But Riana decided to have her 18th birthday on the opening day of deer season. Being filled with anticipation for hunting, it was tough for Caleb to miss such an important day, but he managed to console himself with the fact that she was going to be at the craft show most of the day anyhow, selling chokecherry syrup alongside her uncle Lucas, who was selling his maple syrup. Ethan skipped the opening weekend, but it didn’t matter because the first day he went hunting, he managed to bag a nice buck. But it didn’t matter because, for once, Caleb managed to bag a bigger buck than Ethan.
Titus and Danielle also decided to have birthdays in November. Even though Titus’ birthday comes first, he still is 2 years younger. He informed us he was “regretting his decision to be born after Danielle.” Since Danielle’s birthday was on Thanksgiving day, she had to wait an extra 24 hours to take her learner’s permit, which was a very stressful wait for her. She passed, which is a very stressful development, but not for her.
December opened with the annual cookie baking with Lish and friends. 4,000 cookies and treats in all. Don’t you wish you were one of our neighbors? Ethan plans on fitting in a snowboarding trip in Montana before we go to Iowa (with the newly-married couple) for Christmas. After that, it’s off to StoryBook Lodge’s Winter Retreat where Caleb will share God’s Word with teens and young adults.
So ends the [undisclosed number] years with Larissa as a member of only our family. So begins the expansion of our family into the realm of in laws. We are excited to watch Larissa and Truston begin their own family and thankful that they live just an hour away from us.