Christmas Letter 1998

Copyright © 1997, By Odell Sneeden Hathaway III

My Dear Friends.

Well, it seems that we're approaching another Saturnalia, and with it the joys and memories of the holiday season—a time to remember old friends and look back on the year that’s coming to a close.

This year for me has been, compared to the last few, a quiet one. No moving to a new state, no buying a new house, and unfortunately no falling in love. In 1994, Weaver and I were talking, and he suggested that I should find someplace new to live—someplace to put down roots. I think I really surprised him when the next week I announced that there’s no place in L.A. to do that, and I was going to move to Oregon. It’s been four years—years of some of the greatest change I’ve been through. This year was the year for putting down roots.

In meaning and in reality. I’ve done a lot of gardening this year. I have a new hedge in the back by my stream, and in the front there’s a new Norway maple tree planted next to it. I spent time and money starting to make my house the home I wanted it to be. In the spring, I bit the bullet and added A/C. Then this fall the furnace went out, so I had it replaced—and while I was at it, I added a new gas stove in my kitchen and another in my bedroom for heat (and maybe a little romance). At least I hope by the time you get this it will have been installed. I also repaired the damage that Perezvon (my dog) did to the walls.

My professional life is going very well. I’m very pleased with the company I’m working for. I spent the last year working on Year 2000 upgrades for customers—fun work for me. I’m also very glad that the software I’m working on is being upgraded to a new language. That means I’ll have to learn it, gaining new skills that should let me continue as a programmer for many years (I hope).

And so I’m in a position to look forward to the New Year. I don’t know what it will hold. I hope it doesn’t include all the snow they’re predicting—over 100 inches! (A few would be nice, but 100 would be a killer.) But even if it does snow that much, I have a new stove in my bedroom to keep warm and two cats to keep me company. I hope next year will be a year of growth for me—a time of deepened connections spiritually, and time to enjoy some of what I’m creating here. And perhaps, to find that someone I’m looking for.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful year—that you have a wonder-filled, joyful, and happy Christmas full of love. And may next year be a time of joy as we leave this millennium and head into whatever lies before us.

Your friend,

Odell

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