HoJos Antics

Christmas 2011?  Already?  In less than 2 weeks?  Wuh?!?!? I really can’t believe it.  It’s like it just sprang up out of nowhere.  What happened to 2011?  Where did it go?  It’s like last year I just blinked and here we are; another year gone by and it’s Christmas again.  Wow.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I have been rather introspective of late.  Of course, Jo says I always am, but hey, maybe she’s right.  🙂  Personally, I try to avoid all the societal mandates for end-of-year trappings.  I don’t do resolutions, take stock of what I accomplished, worry about what I didn’t accomplish, or any of that type of stuff.  Not usually, anyway. Maybe that makes me an underachiever?  Hmm.  Actually, I tend to do that stuff on a more daily basis.

Nevertheless, this year has been rather unique for us in a number of ways and perhaps that has led to me waxing introspective in this Christmas season?

In the context of milestones, without doubt, the largest was our 20th anniversary in August.  20 years?!?! Wow!!  To celebrate, we spent 9 days in the San Juan Islands, which are off the coast of Washington State (Yeah, I know, I still need to post pics and videos online).  It was a wonderful time.  Temps in August were in the mid-to-upper 70s and sunny!!!  Wow.  Quite the change from the hot Colorado temps we left behind.

During our 9 days, we actually stayed on three islands in the San Juans.  We relaxed, we rode the ferries several times (which was a blast), we stayed in our first Bed and Breakfast, we went whale watching on a great whale watching charter boat and cruised along beside groups of Orca whales, while passing through alternating banks of fog and bright sun.  It was a very unique experience.

We ate lots (of course).  Especially those amazing and HUGE cookies at that wonderful coffee shop in Friday Harbor, which we frequented several times a day while on San Juan Island. We did a picnic on “Fourth of July Beach”, which was so deserted it was almost surreal.  Just us, the beach, serene views of islands in the distance, soft sounds of small waves pulsing rhythmically onto the pebble-strewn beach, and huge sea birds passing right in front of us.  It was truly amazing.

On the night of our anniversary, I charted a private yacht that took us on a sunset dinner cruise through the islands, returning in the evening.  They cooked prawns and crab legs, smoked salmon with crackers, and other delights, followed at the end by chocolate dipped strawberries.  Wow, that was a night.  The waves, the islands, the sea sounds.  We even saw a schooner that was used in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.  All while the sun slowly descended over the gentle swells as we navigated the peaceful San Juans on a cool August night.  Just awesome.

The whole thing was a surprise for Jo, who only knew that we were doing “something”.  I spent 6 obsessive months planning that trip and the various events (as my poor co-workers will attest to), while leaving some slack in the schedule for “downtime”.  Actually, I had two other trip concepts that preceded that one, which didn’t work out.  However, I am glad that we “wound up” doing the San Juans, though.  It was SO worth it.  But, nevertheless, I was very glad when that trip finally arrived.  I got to sleep again AND stop hiding things from Jo!  Something I am not very good at.  🙂

Another milestone was a certain birthday that Jo had.  I won’t say which one it was, but we’ll just say that it was one of those “special” years.  For 10 years prior to this birthday, she had been saying that she wanted to go SKY DIVING before her [insert special year here] birthday.  Yeah… as in “OH-MY-GOSH she wants to jump out of an airplane?”.  I of course spent 10 years trying to talk her out of it.  But, sometime early this year she whomped that big deer-eyed look on me and crooned “but I REALLY, REALLY want to do this”.  A few eye flashes later and I knew… she really HAD to do this.  Go figure.  So, since during her birthday in November it might be rather cold 10,000 feet about the Colorado plains, instead in July I surprised her with a “happy sky diving cake” and a party at her work.  A few weeks later she did it.  Yup, she climbed in that plane and jumped right out of it, in front of God and everybody.  I still can’t believe she did that.  Who is this woman that I married?!?!  You can see the not-so-cheap video they did of it on her blog post about it.  By the way, “whomped” is an appropriate southern term that in Colorado-speak would mean… umm… well, it has no real western equivalent.  Sorry, you’ll have to trust me that it was a really, really compelling look.

Now, here at the end of the year, we are going through another milestone, in that we are in the process of buying a house. It’s a long story, but the last few weeks of this process have been almost a blur.  We reviewed HUNDREDS of properties online, personally visited dozens of those properties, which were spread out over a 35 x 10 mile area (for accountants, that’s 350 square miles that we covered), from the mountains to the plains and whatever is in-between.  But, finally, we are in the midst of negotiations on a house that should be finalized in a few days.  Whew.  Then, the real fun will start.  Moving in January!  Yay!  🙂

We did some other pretty nifty things over the last year too.  But, now turning introspective, those events really just describe things we “did” or are “doing”.  And while they were and are great and highly memorable in their own right, and we are immensely grateful to God for those events, none of that really sums up what those milestones or events actually represent.

Take our anniversary, for example.  Assuming you can recover from the shocking fact that Jo could actually put up with me for 20 years, that chronological quantification is really astounding.  20 years.  Think about it.  That’s 2-oh years.  10 times 2 years, 5 times 4 years, two decades. Ok, you get the point. But, really… How did 20 years go by?  And what happened to those young, crazy, idealistic, hopeful and whatever else we were, two kids and how did they become… well, us?  I guess that’s a bit existential, but I can’t really seem to grasp how “US THEN + 20 YEARS = US NOW”.  That equation doesn’t begin to describe the ride of those 20 years.

Were they “good” years? Most certainly.  Were there some bad years?  Well, not whole years, but sure, there were hard times and bad things we went through.  Actually, there were some VERY HARD times, in various ways.  Regardless, God has faithfully brought us to this point, slightly scarred I guess, but we’re still here. Although, truthfully, I could never have imagined who we would be now and how we got here.

As I look back, I can’t really quantify those years with one over-arching theme.  Good, bad, hard, easy, fun, frustrating, exciting, painful.  Yeah, it was all that and so much more.  But as a whole, as I look back, the experience itself somehow blends together to become just “Amazing”.  Which is how I would sum it now.  Maybe not some of it as we went through it, but those don’t seem so vivid now.  Those parts dim into the grander background of it all and somehow all I really remember now are the amazing parts.

In that context, I would have to say that the most amazing part has been co-journeying with Jo.  Along the way, the Jo I thought I knew has become something… well, indescribable.  This amazing gift from God that I partnered with just over 20 years ago “until death do us part” is so much more intricate, complex and wonderfully mysterious than I could ever have imagined.  How can she be so strong and yet, at the same, be so weak?  So simple and yet still so complex?  So easy to understand and then so often completely unfathomable?  We laughed, we cried, but we lived it all TOGETHER and I can’t explain what that means, really.  She is all I could ever had wanted and SO, SO much more.  It will surely take a bunch more of those 20 year periods to really understand her, but instead I think I will find that it will just get more complex along the way.  In a strange way, it’s almost disappointing that I only have one life to live with her.  How do I make up for the stupid things I did?  Or that I am going to do?  How could I do those many stupid, selfish things over, but better this time?  Does it or would it matter?  Well, somehow in God’s grace, one life will have to be enough I guess.

But, having said all that about Jo and I’s relationship, this 20 year milestone has caused me to reflect back on so many other relationships.  One of the hardest parts of the last 20 years has been the constant moving that Jo and I have done.  While each move we really intended to be our last, somehow we would find ourselves moving again!  And again.  And again.  Man, who’d a thought this Atlanta boy would be in Colorado!!!  I would never, could never have imagined such a thing in a million years!

But, while leaving all those places and people was NEVER easy, the GOOD part of all that moving has been the opportunity to meet and have known all the wonderful people that God has brought into our lives.  I guess it is an odd time to contemplate all this.  But, if Christmas is a time of receiving gifts, I would have to say that the best gift has been the privilege of having known and shared in the lives of so many wonderful people.  Friends and family (both physically and spiritually).  It is astounding really.  We have truly been blessed to have been encouraged by, challenged by, forgiven by, humbled by, and changed by, all of those lives that God’s providence has brought our way.  I really don’t know how to express my deepest appreciation for each of you. Thank you so much for being part of who we are and what we have become.

This year and every year, may I remember that the best and real gifts to me from God are, first and foremost, Christ and all that He is, and then secondly, each one of you.  Thanks for being a gift from God to us.

God Bless you all.  May you have a VERY Merry Christmas and may 2012 reveal God’s glories and wonders in amazing ways you could never have expected!  All Glory to Him!

Hoby and Jojo, Biscuit and Pun’kin