Happy Holidays from New York City!
I was requested to provide "a short synopsis" of my year (since I can be
quite verbose, this is a particular challenge for me), so I will try to
keep this brief. :)
I continued the family business this year, primarily teaching math at a
small private high school close to the United Nations here in Manhattan.
I am constantly amazed at the variety of students here, even though we only
have a student body of approximately 85 kids. I still consider teaching
to be my "back-up" job (I view acting as my first choice career), but as
I have said in the past, it's nice to know that I get enjoyment and fulfillment
from working with students. I started out the year as a part of the
faculty, teaching three math classes (Geometry, Algebra II / Trigonometry,
and Calculus) as well as tutoring students in math and science. Although
not technically a full-time job, I was blessed to be earning a comfortable
living working half-days. I also taught full-time during summer school,
and have spent the fall substituting off and on. It is gratifying
to me that I have a good relationship with my students, even to the extent
that some of them tell me that they miss me. I am not teaching full-time
as I am trying to keep myself open for acting opportunities, and I'm fortunate
in that I have the luxury of supporting myself without needing to work full-time.
I've also had the blessing of being able to travel and see many things
this year. I flew to Minnesota in March to celebrate my grandmother's
95th birthday with her and over 30 other members of our family (all of her
direct descendents were in attendance!). I went to Vermont with the Parsons
to a week-long ski trip, flew to Montana to assist my father with a Scandinavian
folk dance workshop, flew to Norway for a week with rest of the family,
spent two weeks on Fishers Island with the Parsons at the end of the summer,
spent ten days in Colorado over Thanksgiving with Kirsten and Manuel, and
will be in Montana for more than two weeks for Christmas. I've also
gotten free tickets to see Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera House and
a gala concert at Carnegie Hall. I love my life!
As far as acting is concerned, I finally managed to get my headshots--in
fact, a number of you have probably seen them (courtesy of my proud mother!)
I also participated in a staged reading of a play written by a college friend
of mine, and as I mentioned earlier, I am avoiding full-time permanent employment
so that I can encourage myself to start auditioning. After three years
of living here in New York City, I may actually get "my act together!"
It never fails to amaze me what life brings our way. May blessings
and good fortune follow you throughout the coming year!
With well wishes,
Maren
Well, the tree is up as are the lights and now is the time to try to get
the Christmas letter put together. As we try to remember what we did
this year, I realize that in some ways this letter is more for me than for
you. The year has just flown by and it is therapeutic to think back
on all the things we experienced this year.
We spent Christmas last year with Manuel’s family and chose to meet in
Cancun---yeah, rough I know! I had never been and definitely
enjoyed the white sand and blue ocean. Manuel and I also had the opportunity
to swim with dolphins! It’s an incredible experience! We also
got our "traditional" fix as when we returned we celebrated Christmas in
Montana with my family.
The winter was a little wetter than normal--- Some of you may have
heard of the huge snowstorm that hit Denver in March. Everything closed
(most notably the airport, stranding several thousand people), and Manuel
and I even had a "snow day" off from work! Fortunately, the weather
cleared as did the roads by the time it was time to head to Minnesota to
celebrate Grandma’s 95th birthday. A rather amazing turnout, considering
that all her sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were in attendance.
As a 5th year wedding anniversary present to ourselves (yes, we have made
the five year mile marker!), we took a two week vacation to Norway.
It was the perfect opportunity to see friends that I hadn’t seen since I
spent the year there and to show Manuel my old haunts as well as hit the
typical tourist attractions. As you know from everyone else, it was also
a bit of a family reunion.
Along with the milestone of being married 5 years, I also hit the 10 year
mark after high school! Over the 4th of July weekend, Manuel and I
headed up to Montana to go to my 10-year high school reunion. It was
interesting to see old classmates and find out what they were up to.
Our furry family has changed this year. In July, we adopted a new
puppy—Gryffon—a German Shepherd mix. While it took time to adjust to
a puppy again, he is now firmly entrenched as a member of the family. Unfortunately,
Red’s health deteriorated this year and in the beginning of November we had
to say goodbye.
While last year was characterized by a lot of landscaping, this year we
spent a lot of time doing some home improvements. We started with a
new light fixture in our dining room and soon nearly all the light fixtures
had been changed, the living room had been painted, and some of the flooring
changed. Now it is time to take a breath before we consider the next
project.
We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled
with happiness and good health!
