By far, one of the best parts of my job with the Muscatine Community School District is having a winter break. It allows me to truly unplug, spend time with family, and yes, shovel snow!
Something that I wasn’t planning on happening was getting COVID for the second time! Thankfully, my symptoms were very mild: runny nose, slight chest congestion, and I was really achy, which I think is from the new variant. Either way, I felt like I lost a few days over the break. Please, don’t feel bad for me; it was still great having time off and being home.
The snow we received was pretty light (not the super heavy stuff), and I looked like a genius because I had leftover bags of salt I had purchased last year!
My kids had a great Christmas, and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the following folks for making it memorable for them: my wife Kasey for all that she did to make it a memorable holiday; my father-in-law Craig Mills; my mom, Sheila; my mother-in-law Kim; and her boyfriend, Glenn “Dude.”
The magic of the season was not lost on our house, even if a certain eight-year-old was awake at 1:30 a.m.! That is something that must change for Christmas 2023, but I can also recall being Ted’s age and the excitement that came with it. As much as I may not like snow, it was nice having it for Christmas.
My oldest son, Henry, was shocked when he received an RC (remote control) car from his Grandma Sheila. I captured his reaction on video and our subsequent trip to Star Collectibles and the Island Speedway (810 Division Street in Muscatine). My sincere thanks to Tom and Sue McCleary, who own Star Collectibles; they took excellent care of us while getting the RC car, and I cannot recommend their local business enough!
So, 2023 is here, and I’m going to try and lose some weight, continue to unplug while at home, and do what I can to serve the Muscatine community. I hope that if you’ve set a new year’s resolution for yourself, you can stick to it, even if it doesn’t go 100% according to your plan. Change is challenging, that’s for sure! Here’s to a great start to the new year! Oh, and save the date; bingo returns to Contrary Brewing on Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.; I hope to see you there!
