Christmas 2021

 

Hurtado Christmas Letter 2021

Dear Family and Friends,

What a strange couple of years we’ve all had.  I think the word to sum it up is “uncertainty.”  Since the beginning of 2020 we’ve all been living in a world so incredibly uncertain.  Because of this, when it comes to future predictions in this letter, I’ll be asking the Magic 8 Ball for answers.  

With respect to the past, it’s hard to summarize 2021 without a brief recap of 2020.  Some of you may recall that last year’s installment was written by Ellie, because I was too sick, despondent, or dead to do it myself.  For a while there, I was pretty sure I really was dead, and that I was just in some kind of tailor-made purgatory for really crappy people.  (If you know what my medical situation was you’ll get the joke.)  When I told Kaerlig that I thought I was in purgatory she said, “If this is your purgatory, then why am I here?” Without thinking things through I responded that she was part of it.  Fortunately I lived to see another day.

In September I had another surgery, this time to finish what they started in Summer of 2020.  This went much better than the first one, and I’m pleased to say that if this is purgatory, I must have ascended to a better level of the inferno.  We are climbing out of the pit and things have started to level out. We look forward to some exciting things in the coming year.  Will business be great in 2022?  The Magic 8 Ball says, “CONCENTRATE AND ASK AGAIN.”

Rainer (21), still as clever as ever, is a student at UVU and is on track to receiving an associates degree next spring. He’s locking in those GE’s, hopefully on his way to a bachelors degree that will propel him in the general direction of self-reliance and responsibility.  He spends all his extra time with a wonderful girl he loves and whom we adore.  Will there be an announcement in the near future?  The 8 Ball says, “BETTER NOT TO TELL YOU NOW.”

Elder Hurtado (Davey - 19), always a helpful young man, is currently a missionary for our church.  He was able to serve the first five months in South Carolina and is now in Utah as a service missionary.  He spends his days volunteering at three service sites:  the local Bishops’ Storehouse (providing food to people in need), the Missionary Training Center (working in the kitchen), and the Provo Temple (serving as a temple ordinance worker).  He’s committed to serve for a full two years and we are very proud of him for his perseverance.  Will Davey continue to bless the lives of others next year? The 8 Ball says, “AS I SEE IT, YES.”

Ellie (17), who has no idea just how lovely she is, is mentally “done” with High School but she won’t graduate until the spring. She focuses all her time on art, running, baking, and making long lists of things she has accomplished, is about to accomplish, or would like to accomplish.  If she didn’t love going to bed at 9 pm and waking up at 5 am she’d have more time for a social life.  She’s quite a serious girl.  She is waiting to hear back from different Universities so she can start planning out the next big accomplishment.  We expect great things from her.  Will she ever outgrow her teenage surliness?  “CANNOT PREDICT NOW.”  Wonderful.

Kaerlig, my companion in purgatory, happily stays very busy.  Among other things, she manages our shop and online store, volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corp giving COVID vaccinations, serves as a temple worker at the Provo Temple, and has hiked the “Y” nearly every day.  This has given me the chance to tire out a terrible “dad joke” wherein upon her return I ask her if the Y is still there.  We really enjoyed our business and family trips this year that have taken us on quick jaunts to California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, southern Utah, northern Utah, and Chicago.  We look forward to many more years together!  The 8 Ball says, “IT IS DECIDEDLY SO.”

At the beginning of this year, as I was recuperating from the nightmare of 2020, Kaerlig encouraged me to take online classes through Pathway Connect.  My formal studies as a young twenty-something took the sideline to my entrepreneurial endeavors but I have always wanted to finish my undergraduate degree.  This has been very gratifying although it might take me the next 8 years to finish.  Besides work all day and online classes at night, I’ve been working on my family history and trying to build bridges with my relatives, both the dead and the living.  This is a good job for me since I’m somewhere in between.  I’m really looking forward to a trip to Peru in a couple of months.  Will pandemic travel restrictions throw a wrench in our plans?  “VERY DOUBTFUL.”  We’ll take those odds.    

Our family continues to see miracles and glimpses of heaven despite trials, set backs and hard times.  Business has been good.  Health has improved.  The family is together and united.  Faith is strong.  We are grateful.  

May you all have a Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Hurtado’s