Christmass 2003
“A saga as told by the Spirit of Christmas Past”


Now gather ‘round all of you. Young and old. Rich and poor. Gather ‘round closely for we have a tale to tell. A tale of adventure. A tale of romance. A tale of grief overcome by ...
MARK! Is that Christmas letter done yet???
A tale of a man unappreciated by his wife. Creative story telling takes time to develop - time to find a word that rhymes with “romance”. Okay, here is the abridged version:
Laurel and Erik embarked on a mother/son bonding experience. They drove off to Yellowstone National Park over spring break. There are too many detailed stories to tell here, but be sure to ask about the places they visited, more trouble with buffalo, Erik’s adventures of driving through the mountain passes, and the obligatory stop at Wall Drug. Hey! They now have a T-Rex to greet the unsuspecting visitors.

 
Carol and Carl Glewwe (Mark’s folks) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, on the 4th of July. A week long celebration culminated in a gathering of family and friends at our home. It was a wonderful time.

Unfortunately, the celebration was too tough on Spot. Within a week after the party, it was necessary to euthanize Spot. Her passing was eased by the regrets and eulogies received by many people. She is entombed upon our estate, and Xena has pretty much stopped digging up her grave site.

This summer’s rains were a bit of “feast or famine” and played havoc on our crops. We had planted a litany of sweet corn, pumpkins, gords, potatoes, etc. In the Spring we had plenty of rain, but the draught after the first of July stunted the crops – especially the sweet corn. We lost 90% of the corn.The potatoes did well, but we could water them easier. The ol’ farmer’s motto: “There is always next year.”
 
This autumn, Mark’s only brewing award was at the Minnesota State Fair – 2nd place for his tart cherry melomel. The State Fair continues to be a wonderful event shared by the family.

Diana has returned back to the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She is now a legal adult – 21 as of Nov. 16th. But since she is having problems renewing her driver’s license, it may be hard to validate. To date, her major continues to be Legal Studies. To support her need for humanity credits (now that she is not in engineering) she has been working on the set for the school’s theatrical performance of Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry. The family trekked to Madison to personally witness this successful event. We all came away impressed – even with Diana’s contributions. We returned to the first significant snow storm in Minnesota.

Then the spirit of Halloween brought a bit of extra frightening news this year. Laurel had been suggesting to Mark that he ought to visit the doctor and have a physical. Finally, after several years, he weakened and fell prey to the relentless and persistent nagging. In a mildly ironic event, he visited the doctor on All Hallows Eve, and was diagnosed as Diabetic. Bah Humbug! It has now been several weeks, but the prognosis of a battery of medical professionals is that this medical situation can be controlled with exercise, diet, and some medication. So now, blood is spilled three times daily to demonstrate that all is improving and evolving towards a managed (if not normal) life.
And before we forget the boy child, Erik continues to do well in school and scouts. He went to several weeks of camp in the summer. Now there is talk of the High School band going to San Francisco during spring break 2004. He is still playing the euphonium (a.k.a. baritone).
May this letter find you safe and happy. We wish you all the best and hope our paths cross often.

Mark, Diana, Laurel, Erik (& Shadow & Xena)
The Glewwe’s of Prior Lake, Minnesota.