To our dearest friends and family,
We are sending this holiday letter, even though we haven’t seen each other in person, visited on the phone or crossed paths at church or the grocery store in nearly a year. Truth be told, you were on our list from last year and, while we no longer socialize with you, we thought you might like an update on our family since you’ve last seen us.
In January, we rang in 2020 with the naive optimism of people who imagined this year to be as amazing and futuristic as it sounded. But this year was not what we expected. This year was a hot mess full of tears and meltdowns screaming and throwing things…
…but enough about me.
Our toddler, Ivy, happily welcomed the rest of the family home back in March
On the first day of quarantine she announced, “I am 3 years old and I don’t need to take naps!” and hasn’t rested during daylight hours since. She continues to love having her older brothers home so she can demand that they play princesses daily and perform the occasional “accidental” nudie streak through their class Zoom meetings.
Leo turned 9 and started getting an allowance at the beginning of the year
He currently is the richest in our household, thanks to having nowhere to spend his money for 10 months. He did come to our rescue when our Door Dash arrived and none of the adults had cash (though he charges 20% interest, so it came at a steep price). He's enjoying the perks of quarantine and now refuses to wear anything but sweats and sport shorts. While he misses his friends at school, he claims to prefer online learning so he can finish his assignments in 3.57 seconds and then spend the rest of the day proclaiming that he is “starving” 20 minutes after each meal and talking incessantly about Pokémon cards.
At 14, Brennan has embraced his final year of middle school via remote learning
He has the enthusiasm of a tranquilized bear. He enjoys eating cereal eight times a day and leaving the empty bowl in his room and opts to wear his sweatshirt hood up for all of his live classes so he doesn’t need to wash his hair. His interactions with us mostly consist of saying things like, “goat” and “no cap” or telling us to “spill the tea”. We have no idea what he’s talking about, but are grateful that he's engaging with the family.
Vince worked from home for six weeks in the spring
During his non-work hours he became uncharacteristically motivated to clean out every crevice in our house including the garage only to realize that all donation sites were closed. Needless to say, we spent the better part of the spring looking like a house from “Hoarders” on clean-out day. Once Goodwill opened, he loaded up the truck and camped out in the donation line for 13 hours.
And last, but not least, there's myself
I have become quite the accomplished baker, producing an alarming amount of sweet treats which have caused me to gain and lose the same 10 pounds multiple times over the past year. While I miss my occasional mom’s night out, I discuss the exciting events of my daily life to my besties on Marco Polo and pretend that the Instagram influencers I follow are my BFFs. I’ve also grown close to the grocery pick-up kid and look forward to waving to the UPS man that frequently visits our front porch.
The dog enjoys running frantically around the dining room table whenever he sees a bird or squirrel and letting out silent farts while we watch TV. He is living his best life having all of his humans around and is thriving on the constant attention. He reminds us that, while this year has been emotional and hard, it has also made us realize how blessed we are to have each other.
We pray you are healthy and well and cuddling with your loved ones at home watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in this unprecedented holiday season.
We love you.
We miss you.
The Crosby Family
PS: We’ve inserted a family photo of us in our PJ’s so you remember what we look like.
