Name/Title
AU Harris, James Lowell Jr. - 1994-12-25 letter to Friends and FamilyEntry/Object ID
1996.1.19Context
Christmas 1994
The Messenger-Harrises
124 W. Hamilton Ave.
Sherrill, N.Y. 13461
315 363 5627
Dear Friends and Family,
Just a quick note to you dear ones we rarely see! Thoughts of you slide through our rather porous minds throughout the year and we frequently long for your company!
Jim and Bev are card-carrying members of the Sandwich Generation. We wish that meant long, leisurely lunches on beautiful Mediterranean beaches. Not yet! For now we are anxiously parenting two teen-agers and overseeing the care of Jim's mom.
Emily, now 16, is a firecracker. In her junior year, she is preparing for college entrance, learning to drive, and looking for employment as a life guard. She is lovely and bright and we love her dearly, but she is a TEEN-AGER!
Zak, now 13, is a dreamer. In 8th grade, he is preparing for his sister to leave the house. He loves to play soccer, ice hockey and bowl. Mostly, he loves camping and movies: two activities he does with Jim. He is tall, handsome and bright and we love him dearly, but he is a TEEN-AGER!
Caroline, Jim's mom, now lives in a nursing home two miles from our home. We are happy to have her close by. She no longer is connected to time and space and she spends her days mentally cruising through the early events of her life in random order. She is always cheerful, though, and enjoys coming to church with us each Sunday.
Jim is still teaching occupational skills to mentally and physically challenged young adults (we ARE politically correct). He is a captain in the VFD, manages his mothers accounts and care, drives the kids around, watches T.V., reads and naps. That's it.
Bev is still working part-time for the little church here in Sherrill (happily so!). She is president of the library board, active in school committees and the association of churches. She sometimes cooks, frequently launders, does lots of errands, rarely watches T.V., and does not stay awake to read (can't nap). That's it. WE ARE TIRED!
But our lives are rich with opportunities to experience the love and power of God. The following quotation from Helen Keller expresses the peace and joy that permeates even the most mundane tasks of our lives:
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
May this Christmas find you at peace with your world and with your Higher Power.