HOLIDAY HASSLE 2023

In January, I started a new job (more on that later), and one of my colleagues asked me how old I was.  Before I could answer, he ventured a guess: 60?  For many of you, this Greene Family holiday missive may feel like it’s been inflicted upon you for that long, and for that I wholeheartedly apologize.

The beginning of this year found Sam starting his Junior year in college.  Fully committed to his major of computer engineering with most of his GE and prereqs out of the way, he continues to work for one of the school’s IT departments.  If that alone doesn’t make him the most attractive and eligible bachelor in the greater Provo/Orem area, he’s ratcheting up his sexiness by employing the family minivan as his mode of transportation.  It’s a 2008 Honda Odyssey that never properly got named when we had it here at home.  We threw around the name Homer, but it didn’t really stick.  So, for all of you single ladies out there, I would imagine Sam would be open to your suggestions. 

Kali and Jack moved into their first house in Mesa in the spring of this year and quickly added to their fold: they got another dog, Bruce, a Blue Healer mix whose energy is matched only by his desire to eat whatever’s on offer, even if it’s his brother Hank’s leather collar.  Kali was asked to be one of the advisors for student government at the school where she teaches (it would be weird if she were asked to advise at a different school), which gives her a little more variety while still teaching Chemistry and Mandarin.  Jack went to work for a different electrical contractor as a project engineer soon after they moved into their new house.  While the new job is giving him a lot of great growth opportunities, he’s being given increased opportunities to tune up his road rage as the project site at which he’s working is on the opposite side of the valley.  When that project wraps up, he’ll be able to move on to another project . . . next door to his current project site. 

On President’s Day, we gave leave to our senses and decided to get another dog: a mix between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund – some call it a ChiWeenie; we call ours a Psycho.  Her name is Phoebe, and among her many talents are peeing on the family room floor while looking you straight in the eye (as if she’s daring you to say something) and barking.  With the latter, whenever given the chance, she makes a beeline to the back fence and starts up a yak fest with the two pugs living behind us.  If I thought she and the pugs were doing something to solve world peace or harness the energy of splitting an atom, I’d give her a free pass, but I suspect it’s just a canine equivalent of gossip and dirty jokes.  (And I’d be okay with the latter if I could understand her.) 

A few months back, Erin switched from one real estate brokerage to another where she’s on a team headed up by the mother of one of the students at the high school where Erin worked in the library.  Funny how life makes connections for you.  When she’s not busy trying to convince a home seller that Barney Purple is NOT a color that MOST people would want to see on their kitchen walls, Erin still teaches a lesson at church with the women’s organization. 

As I mentioned, I started a new job at the first of the year – I returned to work for the company that moved us to Arizona almost 20 years ago: Ranpak.  When I left Ranpak in 2008, I felt like I was still a kid; upon returning in 2023, I’m DEFINITELY not a kid (I refer you to the opening of this message).  Older, grayer, and fatter but still the same guy selling paper-based packaging. 

We hope all is well in your corner of the world, wherever that may be!  When you find yourself (whether it’s because you lost a bet or you’re being punished) coming out to Arizona, drop us a line so we can get together and have you stay with us.  We have an empty nest with only a small dog – we’ve trained her not to pee ON anyone, but you might want to keep your suitcases on a shelf.  God bless!