Living the life of Reilly: January 2015: Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Alles Gute in neuen Jahr!

Dear Family and Friends,

Munich x-mas 2013

Ah, the start of a new year and the promises that it brings. The one promise is that this letter will finally get written, as I have started our Christmas letter many times in December; however, the Christmas joy was overshadowed by the cycle of life coming full circle this year. In October Mayland’s 1^st cousin on her Father’s side, Joseph Peter passed to be with his parents and Father. Then, on 1 Dec. Tasha (Mayland’s 1^st cousin on her Mother’s side with Leukemia) passed on to be with her beloved Grandmother and Father in heaven due to an infection. The days of December were full of contradictions of Christmas birth and memorial service preparations. Gratitude of seeing family and friends tinged with enormous sorrow that the one who brought us together was only there in spirit. The blessing that Grandma Reilly was here to watch the kids while Mayland traveled to Denver and Sean did his military training in Texas. This year, more than most, I am grateful that we don’t partake in the materialism portion of Christmas; all gifts are given on Birthdays, because our Christmas this year was spent fully present in each other’s love in a sleepy town, Neuburg an der Danube, reading the Sermon on the Mount and taking a long walk to discover a little café that was open and serving a delicious lunch followed by an evening of board games and more conversation. I’m pretty sure that my kids are being really nice when they say they don’t mind the Christmas sans presents, but I’m hoping that 20 years from now they will appreciate the love and see that time was the best gift we could really give them.

Our favorite stories from the year: we agreed to host a resident who also happened to be a new Mom at our house so she could do the medicine rotation here at Landstuhl. This involved her parents coming to watch her 8mo old son. Well, we had also gotten Tatzie by this time (May) who was about 4 months and very active. Alex, (baby) was crawling and every time he tried to crawl away from Grandma, Tatzie would go and pick him up by the diaper or shirt and pull him back. She already understood, babies gentle. Now, when the toddlers come to visit she follows them everywhere. Turns out that one little boy, ~3 yo, in particular enjoyed this immensely and would go to all of the adults asking for crackers, hot dogs, etc. His Mom and Dad were excited about how much he was eating, until they realized he wasn’t eating any of it … every piece of food was hidden until he had Tatzie right next to him, then out it would come. She soon realized if she sat or lay down there were lots of goodies waiting for her. Honestly, I could fill a page with Tatzie stories; she is a total and utter goofball. A 90lb lapdog who thinks people are the very best.

The fall trip was to Lyon France, Turin and Milano Italy. While in France Clark came to realize that his French teacher was not helping them with travel French at all, but while he was a bit frustrated it was ok because he could understand much of what was being said. In Italy however, he was relegated to just being able to read the Italian (3 years of Latin makes it easy to read). The problem, he couldn’t speak it and really couldn’t understand what people were saying at all. When we arrived back in Germany the first words out of his mouth - “It is so good to be able to eavesdrop on conversations and understand what they are saying.”

Renaissance Faire Sept 2014

The other day Clark was mentioning that he just couldn’t believe he is 14, as tall as Mom and well, a teenager. That got me to thinking about the fact that Sean and I have been married for 16 years. Which reminded me that every year we have been so very richly blessed to host people who were acquaintances, at best, on day 1 and friends by the end of the stay. As I have spent more time thinking about the cycle of life this season, I am reminded that 14+ years ago, we hosted Alice in our home in Philadelphia so that she could spend her days by the side of Art Shurlock (gymnastics coach from UCLA) while he was hospitalized at HUP (Hosp. of Univ. of PA) awaiting a new heart. Then we had a young dog, Hanna, and Clark was only known as a bump in Mommy. Art received a new heart in Sept. 2000 and the doctors at were hopeful he would live 5 years. Art surpassed all hopes and is still going strong and starting his 15^th year as Clark starts his. Prior to the summer of 2000, Art was a legend and someone Mayland admired. After the fall of 2000, Art and Alice became some of our dearest and most beloved friends. It would have been easy to say we were too busy (Sean in Med school, Mayland working, going to school, pregnant) or it wasn’t convenient (guest room vs nursery). Instead, we listened to the small still voice of God and said, please, our home is your home. If ever any of you need a home or just a vacation from the hectic pace of daily life – there is always a place here. We will never be too busy to welcome you, include you and deepen the ties that bind.

The most amazing part of life is that even though life here on earth is short, we can still count our blessings that truly make every day worth living to the fullest. Looking at the photos, we traveled to new places, met new people, made some amazing new friends, strengthened relationships with old friends, and remember to thank God every day for the blessing of being able to help others, be kind when it is easier to be selfish and make time for relationships. May your 2015 be a year for richer relationships.

Peace, Love, and Happiness,

Sean, Mayland, Clark, and MJ