Young Family Christmas Letter 2011

Well, it’s that time of year again. You know it is Christmas time in Michigan when you hear people complaining about the lack of snow one day and it’s over abundance the next. They want a white Christmas but not too cold of one, because then they’ll need a hat and that might mess up their hair, but not too warm of one, because then the street’s all dirty and mushy and it tracks in the house and makes a mess and is totally un-Christmas-like…Ugh. You live in Michigan. Get over it. Fly south for the winter like some geezers I know, or embrace the gray skies, the mashed-potatoey-with-all-the-fixins’ slush-filled streets, the cut up grass clumps from the errant snow plow driver who comes at 4am because when is a better time to drive repeatedly up and down a driveway in a big-ass noisy truck than 4 o’clock in the (censored…it’s Christmas!) morning…oh, am I complaining? Florida, here I come.

And now, a Young family quiz:

1.       Which family member no longer needs glasses/is awesome?

                   a.       Mackenzie, Jon, Doug or Kim
                   b.      Cam, who has 20/15 vision and would totally fly jets if they came with a ramp

Correct answer: (b). It feels great to be a non four-eyes. (Aside: Jon just got new frames, ostensibly an early Christmas present, and now ever so nearly resembles an almost 30 (with a slight paunch), scruffy Harry Potter. Aside #2: Speaking of Harry Potter, we visited his wizarding world in Orlando in March for Spring Break. Butter beer truly is delicious.)

        2.       Which Midwestern university sports college football’s all-time winningest football program?
                   a.       Cow College aka Moo U aka Lansing Community College
                   b.      Notre Dame
                   c.       Ohio State (Penitentiary)
                   d.      The University of Michigan

Correct answer: (d). Mackenzie is on pace to become the family’s fourth U of M grad this spring, assuming everything goes according to plan. Industrial engineering. Geez, piece of cake. It’s like they’re printing degrees down in Ann Arbor. (Aside: My commencement speaker was Roger Penske, a guy who owns a bunch of trucks, and a NASCAR team; I’m rooting Mackenzie gets stuck with someone lamer, like Joe the Plumber or Ronald McDonald. Aside #2: Jon keeps plugging away at his associates degree, and could conceivably complete the U of M quintet in, let’s see, 2024 or so. Aside #3: Ok Sparties, we get it – you’ve won 4 straight years. I cry myself to sleep every night, you happy now?!)

3.        Rank the Young’s by amount they exercised during 2011, from most to least:

                   a.       Cam, Doug, Kim, Mac, Jon
                   b.      Let’s face it, that’s obviously the correct answer

Correct answer: (a). I spend 3 hours a day, 3 days a week at the gym, doing a lot of assisted walking, standing, lifting, balanced sitting, etc. I obviously am the winner. Second place was a bit more challenging to figure out however. The elliptical machine in the basement routinely sports a thin layer of dust, but when it is in use, it’s usually Doug gasping for air, head buried in a business magazine. I guess Kim’s frequent ‘walks’ (aka gossip sessions with the girlfriends) count, so she comes in 3^rd place. Mackenzie’s been away at school, making his physical activity hard to gauge, but even speedwalking to class once a week when he’s running late would assuredly put his exercise above Jon’s.

It’s been an action packed year, as I’m sure you can tell, filled with a few getaways to tropical locales for Kim and Doug, tailgates (8 to be exact…gotta love that packed home schedule) in Ann Arbor, hard work at everyone’s respective jobs (Doug and Jon: Behler-Young, Cam: Steelcase, Mackenzie: schoolwork, Kim: mothering), and lots of time spent enjoying each other’s company (Ok, I better wrap this Christmas letter up before it totally jumps the shark.)

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and a happy, happy 2012!
The Young’s