We first met “Mr. Steve and Miss Judy” when Zack was 4 and Katie 2. They built a house in the cul-de-sac. I noticed as the house was being constructed that there were outlets installed on the exterior of the house in places that could only mean one thing – the owners planned on hanging Christmas lights. I knew I liked them before ever meeting them! As it turns out, I was correct. They have the most spectacular Christmas lights each year.
We lived in the Indianapolis house for six years and our relationship with Mr. Steve and Miss Judy grew from acquaintance to family. Zack and Katie grew up feeling like they had an aunt and uncle two houses away. We had two children and they had a dog. Our kids were always welcome in their home and their dog Skeeter considered our house his second home. He cleaned the scraps of food off our kitchen floor quite nicely! Katie would go over and play Uno with Mr. Steve. Miss Judy and I would sit on her porch swing and visit. Mr. Steve was always my “help desk” and general fix-it guy. Miss Judy is a news producer so the kids were able to visit the television studio during a broadcast and see some behind-the-scenes action of the news world.
Mr. Steve and Miss Judy host a lovely Christmas party every December. A portion of the party is devoted to decorating their Christmas tree. They patiently allow the children to hang ornaments, and then lovingly rearranged some to the top of the tree or hold the children up to place them. Moving to Ohio meant leaving our dear neighbors, and felt like leaving family next door.
After becoming residents of the buckeye state, we committed to maintaining certain family traditions, even if it meant across state lines. Since we can no longer sit on the porch swing and visit in the evening, Miss Judy and I have created an annual get-away weekend for the two of us. One tradition we have kept up is attending the Christmas party and going to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Yuletide celebration. We make a weekend out of it by going to Yuletide with Mr. Steve and Miss Judy on Friday night and then attending their Christmas party on Saturday night. The weekend is a staple of the Davis holiday season. Through this tradition the three youngest kids are getting to know Mr. Steve and Miss Judy as well. We also get to visit with another family who lived in the neighborhood during the same time. Their daughters, Tara and Kaitlyn, spent a lot of time playing with Zack and Katie. It is a treasure to know that once each year all three families will spend time together.
This past weekend was our “Indianapolis holiday weekend”. Zack, Katie, and a friend of Katie’s accompanied me on Friday as we drove over to attend Yuletide. Mark and the 3 little ones were scheduled to drive over on Saturday for the party. Sickness hit in Cincinnati and Mark and the little kids had to stay home much to everyone’s disappointment. Otherwise, the weekend was filled with much fun. Two more of Zack and Katie’s childhood friends joined us Friday evening at the symphony. Mr. Steve wondered what happened to the “kids” as 5 teenagers sat in front of us at the symphony. Uno was played well past midnight between the teens and Mr. Steve. It was the first time for us to be with our friends who lost their daughter, Kaitlyn, suddenly and unexpectedly to an illness. She died the day before Zack, Katie, and I left for Guatemala and we missed her funeral. It was difficult for us to see them without Kaitlyn but healing to talk about our memories of all the kids being together. The kids who used to be in diapers together are now teenagers. Where has time gone?
The holidays are such an awesome time to enjoy traditions with friends and family!
Decorating the tree in 2006
Gustavo, Kaitlyn, Katie, Tara, and Marco in 2006
Little did we know this would be our last time with Kaitlyn
The teenagers constructing the tree with Mr. Steve in 2008
Tara, Zack, Katie, and Katie's Cincinnati friend Hannah...teenagers are really just big kids!
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