Dear Friends, Family, and Others*
This is my fifth time writing the family Christmas letter, so I think that it is time to finally dispense with using the third person in the letters. From now until the end of time (or when chocolate ceases to exist, whichever comes first), “I” means “Ben” (or “The Great,” whichever you prefer). 2011 was another busy year for the Kacher family; lots of working, playing,
chasing (Paije), and watching Sesame Street. Most importantly, we only got one traffic violation all year! Anyway, without further ado, here is the rundown of the year:
I worked as a contract negotiator for a Defense agency in Bethesda, MD until October, and then switched to a Navy agency in Arlington, VA. I now negotiate contracts for fighter jets and
bombs (no, I have not yet worked through the moral implications of my employment).
I spent my evenings and weekends working on an LLM (master’s degree for lawyers) in government contracts. Remember Tony Stark from “Ironman”? I’m working on becoming like him. Most of the time, though, I feel like the guy in “Pursuit of Happyness” (you know, the guy in the park who continually tries to steal Will Smith’s X- Ray machine because he
thinks that it’s a time machine).
Bonnie spent 2011 working full and then part-time for RBL Consulting and chasing Paije around. She had about 30 or 40 minutes to relax during the year. I don’t know how she still seems to be so happy, but she does. Bonnie travels a bit for work and usually takes Paije with her. She told me that, in all, she has taken Paije on 25 flights (and has developed a great appreciation for nice flight attendants and passengers). Bonnie also decorated our apartment. Come see it sometime. Seriously, come visit us! Paije’s hair seems to alternate between red and blond; we’re still waiting to see which color wins. Her temperament seems to go in tandem with her hair color too. She spent most of the year bringing us books for us to read to her (mostly princesses and Dr. Seuss), swimming in the bath tub (sometimes she says she’s a mermaid and sometimes she says she’s a shark) and telling us about her dreams (it sounds like she dreams pretty much exclusively about pumpkins). She turned two in October and we, like all good parents, let her eat all the chocolate cake that she wanted. New baby announced herself in the form of cravings for strawberries and feta cheese. She should make her debut at the end of March 2012 (provided the world doesn’t end before that).
All in all, a good year. We mostly just feel grateful that we have each other and that I still have some hair left. Have a fantastic 2012! Love,
Ben, Bonnie, Paije, and (?)
*Others: People who drive too slowly in the left lane