2016 in Review

Normally a holiday letter goes out to some family and friends each year with an overview of what the Fagella family has been up to.  The letter did not quite make it out to many folks this year, so here is the electronic version.

What can we say about 2016?  The general consensus is that we are happy to close the book on it – like so many others.  I considered not preparing the overview this year, but that really was not the best way to handle it.  After all, there were some good things in 2016.  In the spirit of being thankful…..and trying to recall some of the good things….I asked our family members to list their top two things that happened in 2016.  Without further ado, here is the list.

Anna’s Top 2

Anna did not hesitate on her first item:  a dog.  After years of lobbying, pleading, and negotiating Anna is at last a dog owner.  Storm joined the family at the end of May after a family friend was trying to find a home for him.  He is an 11-year old cockapoo and his owner had to give him up when she went to a nursing home.  After a 3 week try-out, it became clear that Storm was here to stay.  He is definitely Anna’s dog and follows her everywhere.  He is pretty laid back, rarely barks, doesn’t shed, and loves to go for walks and play ball.  He also likes to sleep under beds and basically has his own room as he sleeps under the bed in the guest room.  One of the biggest surprises was how much Theresa likes him, especially since she was the one that was not enthusiastic about getting a dog.  She claims it is because he is the most excited to see her when she gets home.  Joe generally tolerates the dog and has resigned himself to the fact that Storm has taken over the house.

Anna’s second best thing to happen was that her teachers got married – to each other.  Her 5^th grade teacher, Mr. Jacoby and her computer teacher, Miss Grossman were married on November 18.  They were kind enough (or perhaps crazy enough) to invite their students to the wedding ceremony.  It was definitely the 5^th grade event of the year with most of Anna’s classmates attending.  Of course, the students sat in the front two rows attendance).  They led the cheers when the “you may kiss the bride” was proclaimed. 

While the list was for two, the third item on Anna’s list was joining the Vienna Jammers.  This is a local percussion ensemble that features marimbas and drums.  Anna attended a camp and had to audition to get in.  She made it and is having a fantastic time.  The group has performed at local music venues, the Halloween Parade (the biggest event of the year in Vienna) and made their first trip out of the area to a music convention in Atlantic City.  Check out the videos at www.ViennaJammers.org.

Top 2 for Joe

The best thing to happen to Joe in 2016 was retirement.  After much debate, he decided the time had come at the end of March to leave Dell.  He has been blissfully happy ever since and is still in his retirement honeymoon stage.  He has enjoyed lots of hiking, reading, and long delayed home improvement projects.  Anna is thrilled because it meant that she could come home after school AND she got a dog (Joe retirement was one of the prerequisites for a dog).  Theresa is appreciating Joe being around as well.

The second-best thing to happen to Joe in 2016 was getting a new furnace.  While this may not be that exciting for most people, Joe was very happy to get this taken care of before the furnace died on its own.  The entire family is appreciating it now, particularly as the temperatures drop below freezing.

Theresa’s Top 2

Theresa approached the question as what really revolutionized her life this year.  Audiobooks.  While some may say, “this is not new,” it is new for Theresa.  Thanks to her friend Pauletta, who tipped her off to the convenience of listening to books in the car and set her up with the application on her phone, Theresa is on board.  It was appropriate that the first book she listened to was also from Pauletta, Bossypants by Tina Fey.  Since then, Theresa has learned to check out audio books from the library and is well stocked for the commute to and from work.  Others may not see this as such a good thing as now family members are subject to quotes from whatever she is reading (there was two months where Theresa was listening to former defense secretary Robert Gates all the time).  This also allows her to have more in depth discussions with Joe, who is a particularly voracious reader in his retirement. 

Theresa’s number two item for the year was the June vacation to Cape May, New Jersey.  This was the first trip with Storm and a different location from years past.  The trip happened to occur during horseshoe crab spawning season and Theresa quickly found a purpose in taking morning walks along the Delaware Bay and flipping trapped horseshoe crabs.  It was a great area to explore.  Oh sure, the first tornado to hit the area since the 1970s happened to occur during the vacation and there was a brief moment when the family thought their cottage may be swept away, but other than that it was a very relaxing trip.

Other Events

Anna’s social calendar keeps the family busy.  In addition to playing soccer and swimming, Anna continues to take piano lessons.  She decided to try basketball this winter for the first time.  She is also active in girl scouts (cookie sales just started).  Anna is officially a tween following her 10^th birthday and enjoys hanging out with her friends, music, any sort of technology and rolling her eyes at her parents.

We also got some time to visit family over the year.  The 4^th of July marked a trip to Massachusetts to celebrate Aunt Lucy’s wedding and see all of the Fagella family.  There are always visits to see Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio, including Anna’s annual week in August.  This is perhaps her favorite vacation of the year as she gets to eat lots of treats and watch television shows her mother normally will not let her watch.  Thanksgiving was the biannual Kohler conversion on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.  This event is always marked by the annual Ohio State-Michigan football game and the conclusion that the family can no longer live under one roof together for more than 3 days at a time.  Anna and her cousin Aidyn always have a great time hanging out.

As we conclude 2016, we look forward to 2017 and all the possibilities it holds.  After all, we are on the cusp of Making America Great again….whatever that means.

Happy Holidays!