The Lame Electric Holiday Letter

 Happy New Year From The Ficklins,

It seems that the world has gone digital this year.  I am not sure I like it.  Mainly, because I am a huge advocate of physical letters, of actually sitting down with a piece of paper and writing with a nice Frixon Erasable Gel Pen.  There is something about the actual forming of each letter, and having a personal message written to each person.

But here I am writing an electronic holiday greeting.  I think I have become too lazy and unwilling to be that old school person I claim to be, even if now the oldies station is playing the music I listened to in high school, which was made apparent when I got into my Dad’s car at the airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin this last September.  “Sweet Child of MIne,” by Guns and Roses never sounded as sweet as when I razzed Dad about listening to the music he had to “clean out of his speakers” after I had driven his car as a teenager.

The year has flown.  It has been filled with a mixture of emotions.  I am human after all, which I reminded my son of the other day when he claimed to be “emo.”  Apparently, it is still weird for a boy to feel any other emotion than anger these days.  He is a sensitive type and was thinking he was weird because of the emotions he feels.  Human, this is what we are.  So, if you too feel overly emotional at times, remind yourself that you are human and it is okay to be.  

My sister and I were chatting a few weeks back and we concluded that our grief kinda blinded us during Christmas last year and we don’t even remember much of it.  I am pretty sure I was on autopilot the whole year after my Mom’s passing.  And unless you have experienced such a loss, you probably don’t know exactly how you go through a rollercoaster of emotions almost on the daily.  It has gotten better and I feel like I am getting to a point of not being on autopilot the majority of the time, but again grief comes in waves and on occasion I am still hiding in my office at work and being a grieving human all over again! 

The Ficklins had a good year. The biggest thing was the new RV we purchased in October.  We love our new 19’ Go Play Bunkhouse.  In the month an a half we had it before having to winterize it, we got out five times.  I dream of spring and the futute adventures every time I look at the camper under it’s cover in our driveway.

Reuben is still working at Glass Images doing stained glass.  Glass Images keeps him busy with all the Temple windows for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and his company gave him a very generous bonus this Christmas because he brings so much revenue to the company!  He also sold many of his famous nativities, both at my school’s Christmas craft fair and by word of mouth.  

Alice is still working at Independence High School as a Health and Physical Education Teacher. Her side hustle of selling used bikes has paid for a few concerts this past year(Kelly Clarkson, and P!nk.)  She is happy to not be busy with Dean of Students duties this school year but was glad to serve in that capacity last year when it was needed. She also was honored to present at The National Alternative Education Conference in Florida this past October.  Hopefully, her presentation on her school's bike shop will encourage other teachers to build one in their school.  She read 40 books this past year and will get a 50 dollar gift certificate to her favorite local bookstore, Pioneer Book.

Ellis, 10, finished the 4th grade and is loving 5th grade.  It is amazing how a great teacher can make all the difference for a kid and Ellis’ teacher is perfect for him.  We rarely hear “I don’t want to go to school” and that is pure perfection.  He is enjoying Junior Jazz basketball this winter and is a White belt with four stripes in Jiu Jitsu.  He is always entertaining us with his knowledge of everything, especially Japan, and everything on the world atlas.

Zarah, 7, is in 2nd grade and still loves school.  She has added Hip Hop to her dance routine beside ballet.  Her recital in December was wonderful.  She is still learning Spanish and loving it.  Her favorite present at Christmas was roller skates.  Her new roller derby name is Honey Comb, because if you can skate you, need a derby name(she has a very large, bright orange sweatshirt that has a honey comb on it!).

Rozz, the dog, is still a good pup. He loves the snow and it actually gives him zoomies quite often in the winter. He loves walks and treats and just being with his pack! He does not love his new sweatshirt that he got for Christmas, though:

We are looking forward to many more adventures in 2024 and wish you all the same.  May you have a wonderful year!

Love,

The Ficklins

11 Years: That’s Crazy.

 I wrote this a few weeks ago, on our anniversary, June 22nd, while at Reunion Day for The Central Utah Writing Project:

Today is my 11th wedding anniversary. Forever is a long time yet with each passing year, the two of us often look at one another and say: “Crazy. It’s been this long.”

Reub’s my eternal fishing buddy. I knew he wasn’t one to “catch and release” the day he took me fishing and I never touched a hook, worm or fish! That’s my kind of fishing.

We still go, just not as much with two full-time jobs and two full-time kids. Now, he gathers tackle boxes, lures, line and rods, while I gather kids, toys and snacks… oh, and a book! I am more a fisher of words, these days, rather than gills and fillets.

But,  shore lines are still magical. The land met by cold lapping water. Water just waiting to have a smooth flat rock skipped across.  My son will spend hours doing that.

The warm sand invites holes to be dug and castles to be built. Make-believe kingdoms is where my seven year old daughter will spend hours today. 

Warm sunshine and blank paper are all I need as  I watch my favorite fishing buddy cast with professional form. Haiku are easily written about his checkered shirts, stones used for Carnes and skipping, and kingdoms where princesses are still normal and not followed around by paparazzi.  (And occasionally about zombies.)

Moments, and a little Seaglass, are collected. Seaglass can create an amazing mosaic of world history, but these moments are creating a beautiful mosaic of my eternity. This wonderful Ficklin team is more magical than any lake. Happy 11 years to us! :)

Let's Talk About Side Hustles

 Hi.  Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what I will do next in my life.  I love teaching, do not get me wrong, bur there is going to be a day when I am no longer doing it, more than likely in nine years.  (I am shooting for 30 years)

I have a list of things that I have thought about doing with my life after teaching.  

1. Get a Master's for:

    a. Social Work

    b. School Counselor

    c. Technical or Copy Writing

2. Work as an embalmer with my sister who has thought about being a funeral planner.

3. Greet at Walmart

Of all these options, the greeting at Walmart seems to be what I would like to do.  You have no work to take home and you don't have to deal with dead bodies or snotty kids.  Plus, I wouldn't need to pay more money for a degree I would only use for a while.

Of course, just saying "Hi and welcome to Walmart" seems to be a little boring after the twenty plus years in a job that you never know what will happen next.  It is quite exhilarating never having a repeat day and that whole standing at the door day in day out, hour after hour would be a let down for me. 

But really, I love working on bikes and I have recently decided that fixing up on bikes and making them rideable could earn me a little extra cash on the side for the time being. 

Reuben got me a new to me bike stand for my birthday.

Here you can see how easy it makes working on bikes.  This is Z's last bike.  With a tiny amount of work, a new saddle, and two new grips, I think I can sell it for about 40 bucks.

I also have four other projects after this one:

An old Giant mountain bike.  It will need a little elbow grease to rid it of rust.  A new chain, new shifters, and a new saddle are the big things this bike needs.

An old GT mountain bike.  It needs new grips and shifters, a new saddle, a new chain and a bit of mechanic magic.  I am hoping to get a little money out of both of these in order to get the more new project bikes.

There is also another mountain bike I can sell pretty easily without much work.

These bikes all came from the yard of a friend of a friend and had been sitting there for a long time.  

But there was also a very cool find from that pile of rust and pieces:

I am guessing this bike is from the 1970s.  It is a Raleigh Grand Prix road bike.  It has the original Brooks saddle from England, which has survived the weather surprisingly well.  Or maybe it isn't so surprising.  These saddles are the best, from what I have heard and I have thought about getting one but they are expensive.  They are probably worth the money seeing this one survived through sun, rain and snow for many years.  

This bike will probably be my next big project for me to ride for a bit before I choose to sell it.  It just looks like a very fun bike, and will make an interesting talking piece.  

Side hustles.  The in-between before the next big thing.

Media Monday: Book Review #2 The Marrow Thieves and Bonus #3

 The Marrow Thieves

Imagine a life without dreams.  You sleep at night is completely unconscious. That is what the world is like in this novel.  The only people who are found to have the ability to dream are The North American Indigenous people. The marrow in their bones possesses this power and now they are being hunted in order to harvest it. This story follows a fifteen year old boy as he battles to stay away from that harvest.  Very suspenseful read that kept me guessing what would happen next.

The Green Mean by Nick Bancock

This is the third in the Griffin and Sabine series of a correspondence between two artists.  They live across the globe from each other and communicate through letters and postcards.  The book is fun because you actually get to take the letters out of the envelopes and the postcards are artwork drawn by the characters to one another.   

Media Monday: Book Review #1: Houdini The Handcuff King

 

This was a pleasant little read.  It is based around Houdini's death defying stunt as he jumped with handcuff on into a river in Boston. It gives insight to how Houdini pulled off his stunts and a little glimpse of his life, including his relationship with his wife, Bess.  The artwork is brilliant and the book is readable in a day, which was the category I picked to read it for on Pioneer Book's Reading Challenge.  If you haven't tried graphic novels yet, here is an invitation to do so, they are fun to read.  And kids love them too!