2025 Christmas Letter

I sit at the dining room table listening to Christmas music and viewing beautiful snow-covered trees through our living room widows. Our Christmas tree is decorated, a vintage ceramic Christmas tree sparkles with colored lights, the nativity set is displayed at the entryway, and our front door is adorned with a festive wreath. It is the perfect Christmas zhuzh for inspiration.

For those of you who are "posting zero" on Facebook, the table below is a teaser. We created a top 10 list of our 2025 activities, but the activities and their descriptions are scrambled... for brain entertainment and exercise. Stretch those brain muscles!!! Otherwise, the answers are way below:

                           ACTIVITY                                                             DESCRIPTION

1	Jeff’s mom’s 90th birthday	A	In our neighbor’s backyard; one of the most amazing light shows ever
2	Niagara Falls	B	We took train trips to DC & Philly & visited Longwood Gardens. We had fun times together walking many, many steps
3	Healthful visits to Rehoboth Beach	C	Fun photo shoots in a variety of locations in Philly
4	Our June family visit in Tulsa, for @ a week	D	Lots of time to read, a few walks with Nathan, greeting at church, & fun eats of Taco Bueno
5	Diane’s April visit in Tulsa, for 2 weeks	E	A bucket list adventure that included a beautiful rainbow & many walking steps
6	Diane’s September visit in Tulsa, for 2 weeks	F	Our favorite stops include Aldi & the Asics Outlet
7	Celebrated two 70-year birthdays	G	Fun eats of Taco Bueno, many walks with Nathan, did a fun fall puzzle, greeting at church, & too busy to read
8	Lightning bug festival, zillions of them	H	Our accommodations included a lovely pool & we picked blueberries
9	Our good friend Ocki visited in March	I	Delicious food, a Bears win, watched Wicked 1 & 2, returning home we were stranded at ORD overnight after one of the earlier larger snowfalls in the Chicago area
10	Thanks-mas with the Fulks-9	J	It was a beautiful celebration, we are blessed. It was fun sharing an Airbnb with Jeff’s 2 siblings; we ate, laughed, danced & played games

Jeff still enjoys his work at American Bible Society, even more now that he is part-time. We continue to be avid reality TV show watchers, including Survivor and Amazing Race. Diane was blessed to be at Nathan's house a total of 5 weeks this year. 

Diane's first activity every morning is solving the NY Times Wordle, Connections, and Strands puzzles and then sharing her results with a good friend.

We wonder when and whether we will move back to the Midwest to be closer to family. IF we move back, where will we move to? It is complicated, but we are praying for wisdom.

A meaningful 2-hour Christmas special is Kevin Costner's: First Christmas, on Hulu and Disney+. Was Jesus born in a stable? When did the "3 Wisemen" visit Mary, Joseph, and Jesus? Who was Herod, really?

The answers to the brain teaser above are:  1-J, 2-E, 3-F, 4-H, 5-D, 6-G, 7-C,
 8-A, 9-B, 10-I.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and a very blessed New Year 2026. 

Jeff & Diane

2024 in Review

Diane’s favorite week-morning talk show hosts say that people don’t like Christmas letters. I like writing them (and reading others) so here is at least one more, just for kicks and maybe even to “zhuzh” the senses. AI/ChatGPT is becoming our new assistant. One upcoming task needs its help, and we might try its editing function on a paragraph or two of this Christmas letter. We hope you can’t tell which paragraph(s)!

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away… well, 5½ years ago the East Coast seemed like a land far away. But now, as we have "followed the yellow brick road" it feels like home here, with neighborly neighbors who bring tasty treats plus friendship and sights that entertain and stretch our imaginations. Hearing from treasured Midwest neighbors and friends is also a plus. 

Seven years ago, Diane’s goal was to learn to juggle; but unfortunately, before she could even begin to practice that skill she broke her wrist. Over the past week, the compulsion to learn to juggle has resurfaced. So, we watch YouTube videos and thus far, clumsily throw two hacky sack balls into the air, kinda/sorta in circles, kind of not, mostly dropping at least one of two balls onto the floor – thump - thump. With Tin Woodsman-like heart and perseverance, we hope to attain what is called the “muscle memory” needed to eventually juggle three balls. Wish us luck!!!

Another new “muscle memory” needed for 2025 is working fewer hours. It doesn’t seem like that should be difficult, but the challenge is to keep the mind oiled; routines will change. Jeff will have extra hours for new activities. So far, the library is becoming a regular Saturday morning hangout. We work our Scarecrow brains. 

Jeff’s almost 90-year-old Mom keeps her brain active with Bingo at her new assisted living facility and is doing well. Diane keeps her mind sharp enough playing Wordle and Connections every morning, comparing results with her texting buddy Beth.

Highlights this year included:

♡ In late-December 2023 and September, we enjoyed unexpected and quick business trip visits from our son (his wife accompanied him the December trip). In March Diane flew into O'Hare for a trip for youngest grand's 9th birthday. Older brothers are now 12 and at Christmas time 14. They dabble in basketball, gymnastics, band, and one likes corgis and Swift things 😀.

♡ Jeff experienced a bumpy ride for 2 months muscling through a pre-surgery skill he never, ever expected to learn. Surgery and 3 weeks of mild limitations made him a new man. He still runs 2-3 mornings a week.

♡ In May we visited with Jeff's overseas sister-in-law and her son during their brief trip to Maryland. 

♡ In June we were with family in the Midwest for a quasi-family reunion. It was a surprise 50th anniversary celebration for Diane’s brother. Unfortunately, he wasn’t surprised, because he clued into his family’s unnatural text responses a few days prior to the party; but his wife’s shock and happy tears made their children’s year-long planning worth it all.

♡ Diane’s heart warmed catching up with her East Coast nephew at the reunion. Enough so that Thanksgiving Day we took a daytrip to chat some more, eat good food, play challenging board games, and walk with her nephew’s talented family. We registered to walk their 5k Turkey Trot but bailed the Trot because of the rainy/cold weather forecast. Yet, this coming summer we will wear our colorful 2024 Turkey Trot t-shirts we eagerly snagged for our TT collection.

♡ In October our DIL’s parents visited us. They are teachers, so introducing them to the East Coast train system, traveling to DC and Philly, and visiting Jeff’s workplace ended up being as exciting for them as it always is for us. They willingly braved the subway’s germs, climbed the famous and challenging Rocky steps, and they ate with us favorite Wendy’s burgers and Friday night Season’s Pizza, too. Giving them a tour of American Bible Society’s office building view of historic features below, décor and Bible artifacts were all highlights. Their 4 days whizzed by and getting to know them better was a blessing as well as reading their gifted book “Life Without Lack.”

Each Sunday we walk a 5k for an official 30-minute workout at Planet Fitness. We call it a triathlon (walking there, weights, walking back). Worker Barb greets us with, “Did you walk here today?” To which we answer “yes” (because the weather has so fully cooperated, for weeks). This morning’s walk will be cold, but that won’t stop us.

A week after Thanksgiving, Aldi opened a shiny new store just 5 minutes from us—right on the way to our Planet Fitness. Gone are the days of driving 20 minutes for Diane to wander the legendary Aisle of Shame (oh, and pick up some groceries too). Emotional spending, prepare for liftoff!

We are so glad the 2024 elections and its ads are over. We don’t know what the new year will bring, but if 2025 at least matches 2024, we will repeat, “there’s no place like home.” 

Spectacularly “zhuzhed” houses and Holiday light shows this season have been a sensory gift. In Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago “God with us,” Messiah, the most spectacular Light was born. God in flesh made a temporary home here on earth to demonstrate His love for us. He is the reason for the season. We wish you a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah (both celebrated on December 25th this year) and a Happy New Year, too.

Wordle & Zhuzh

This summer, every morning fairly early, around 7 a.m. my time, I look forward to receiving the text, "Guys did you do Wordle yet?" 

The text is not from my sisters or from a friend. It is not from my husband. It is from our 8-year-old grand who group texts her Nana and me. She early-morning dabbles in the word game and asks us for hints. She has us wrapped around her little finger when it comes to hint-giving (it helps that my time zone is one hour ahead with the wake-time advantage).  

"She sees words, and that is what matters" I say to myself and the hubs as I justify any hints given to her. 

We help her. Then, after we have all solved the day's challenge, if the word is fun or unfamiliar, we try to think of creative ways to use ethos, chart, party, beget, etc. in a sentence. On a side note, I don't think the five-letter word zhuzh will ever be used in Wordle because of its unusual letters and difficulty.

We hope that one day the "aha" moment will come for our grand. With patience and time, and if her Wordle interest continues, I hope a light will turn on and words will come alive. I hope that "first love" and learning and understanding will intersect... when her mind is primed and ready.

That is my hope as we walk through defining the meaning of Zhuzhment Day. To progress toward understanding, with the prize being an "aha" moment and maybe even a eureka, too. 

Deep Dive

The word zhuzh is not in my copy of the 1978 The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary. A few people believe it is a Yiddish word. "Some swear the term is Romani in origin, derived from the word 'zhouzho' meaning clean or neat" (languagehat.com).

I ran into oddly spelled and odd-looking zhuzh on Thesaurus.com, searching for a word with a similar meaning to renew. I needed to hear its pronunciation... "zhooz"... for the light to turn on. That word is familiar, and inspiring, as well. To renew, or to zhuzh, embellish or clean.

A poignant scene from Top Gun Maverick comes to mind pertaining to understanding. Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) stands outside of the Top Gun bar (Hard Deck) he was thrown out of moments ago. He hears the song "Great Balls of Fire" being played on the piano by a fellow pilot, his Godson Rooster. It stuns him like deja-vu because Rooster's deceased father Goose played that same song on the piano over 30 years ago. I thought that was the stinging connection for Pete and why the look on his faced showed he reminisced the song, with painful memories. 

But after thinking more about that scene (EQ-impaired, I re-watch movies a zillion times), a new and deeper meaning hit. The actual lyrics "great balls of fire" were like a premonition. They rang true in Pete's mind and memory and hit him strongly. Thirty years previous, his co-pilot and close friend Goose (Rooster's father), died in the plane Pete was piloting when it exploded in great balls of fire. That was the actual why for Pete's stinging reaction. A deeper meaning of that familiar song was better grasped, because he felt one of many dimensions of Godson Rooster's present-day anger towards him.

Like it took forever to "get" the real reason for Pete's reaction to the song in the bar, it takes a deep dive to understand Zhuzhment Day. One hint: My figurative windows were cleaned, and eyes were opened to the light, on Zhuzhment Day. Eureka!