Trudging through the snow, on a cold December day,

You knock at the Borchert’s door, to see who can come out to play.

 

But all you get is working Dave, having risen from his computer chair,

He says, " Are you looking for Mike or Tom", and you say, "No, is Pat there?"

 

Dave starts to speak, and trying to remember Pat’s schedule, says "hmmm"

And then he adds, to your surprise, "She’s at the U of M"

 

"That’s one, two, yes three in school, but how can that be, they were just here."

Dave replies,"Tom is studying in sunny California, I visited him earlier this year"

 

"Mike is pursuing Physics at Carleton, which is much closer to home.

So it’s just the three of us here now, with room in the house to roam."

 

"Well it has been nice chatting", "Indeed it was my pleasure"

"When will I see any of them?", "Oh, not until the end of the semester"

 

That’s right, Mike, Tom, and Mom are all in college (of some form or another). Of course, some people have taken advantage of this situation. For instance, Mom has a new study, and I have upgraded to the second biggest bedroom. Tom is thoroughly enjoying life at Cal Tech, playing pool at 3 a.m. (that’s when he gets done studying) and being a prankster (check out his October 16 journal entry at www.borchert.com/tom). Mike is still happy with his variety of courses (history and philosophy, as well as math and physics) and somehow keeps up with both his friends and his studying.

Mom has, in fact, traded the corporate rat race for the life of the perennially behind student, and is in the first year of a 4 or 5 year pursuit of a Ph. D. in Strategic Management. She seems to be happy with her relative independence, and I like the increase in mom-cooked meals. I am also in a new school, the Interdistrict Downtown School, a mix of kids from 9 different districts. This is the first year of operation for the school, and it has been absolutely normal chaos. But it’s been interesting, and I have made lots of new friends. Dad’s the only one not in school, which is good, because someone needs to do "real work" around here.

I’m sorry to say that Flopsy our pet bunny passed away quietly approximately one week after the cats were brought to our home. Some people say it was stress, some people say that it was internal problems, all I know is she was only one and a half years old, and rabbits are supposed to live up to 7 years.

The problem with a kitten is that……..It grows up to be a cat

Isn’t it true though. We have had to cat proof certain parts of the house. Because of my allergies, the cats aren’t allowed in my room, so there is a very ugly looking screen in front of my door. Mom managed to kill all but one fish by dumping (accidentally) all of the food in the tank, then when cleaning it out, shocking the fish with water that wasn’t the right temperature. The fish that survived is a bottom-feeder (it eats algae) and hasn’t been keeping up, so the fish tank is coming alive. Rex (the anole) is still alive, but we’re seeing less and less of him since a great furry black beast has been sitting on the top of his cage. Spooky also sometimes sits staring at nothing in particular in the lizard’s cage for hours on end, and then will suddenly shoot out a paw and try desperately to attack the crickets in his cage. What’s even more entertaining is to watch my parents watch the cats watch the lizard and crickets. I think someone needs to get a life…

We wish you all a happy, peaceful holiday! Love, Karen (with a little help from my mom)