My 2025 Christmas Letter

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Season's Greetings              Christmas 2025

       Well, the world is markedly different from when I wrote last year’s Christmas Letter, isn’t it? As I wrote to a target audience of mine in July, 2025, “As anyone who is able to see can see, the world and the United States is in one Hell of a mess.” I recommend buying your popcorn plenty early before the November 3rd, 2026 mid-terms.

       I spent a good part of my time during 2025 with Debbie in Centralia, MO and it's been nice to have a woman in my life after being on my own since 1989.  Debbie wanted to add in this letter: "Greg and I have been friends for 14 years. It's been eventful, to say the least. I've been ill for 1 ½ years (and counting) and I could always count on Greg to pack (half of his household's contents --- Greg's inserted comment 😀 ) and stay for about 3 weeks every month this past year. I'm forever thankful. Thanks so much Greg for coming over and putting up with me!"

       Carissa continues to hold down the fort at home. This is her 13th year working as the lead sonographer for Swedish/Providence. She participated in the union negotiations for a 4th time this year. The 5/6 grade Boys and Girls Club volleyball team that she coaches went 9-0 for the season. Hunter, 14 is in the 9th grade, and is in the STEM program at MTHS. He enjoys playing video games, taking photos and spending time with his friends and girlfriend, Evalyn. Hunter and Evalyn attended their first homecoming together in October. Kennedy, 11 is in the 6th grade. She is active in safety patrol at her school, volleyball at the local boys and girls club and joined Prism club volleyball team in November. She will be very busy with weekend volleyball tournaments starting in January. Kennedy enjoys hanging out with her friends, playing volleyball and baking. Johnathan plans to use the 2025 loss of his brother, Brett, as motivation to begin training for work in chemical dependency and addiction counseling in 2026. He also plans to begin volunteering with the Seattle VA hospital’s peer-to-peer counseling program.      

      Holly continued taking care of Mernell in her second year of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, Mernell having some good days and not-so-good days, typically right after chemo treatments.  Holly‘s little brother, Brett, had been secretly dealing with a lot, including depression and some physical complications. The family did not know much as Brett had pushed away for some time and, sadly, he passed away in late February.  Holly does take it as a blessing that she got to be by Brett’s side while he was undergoing dialysis, etc.  Sadly, Brett‘s passing was understandably devastating to Mernell’s spirits, Mernell‘s body weakening and get smaller, which caused Mernell to miss out on many events in her last month, such as Melanie‘s spring dance recital, kindergarten graduation and earning May’s first grade student of the month award. (Mernell did know she was going to be rewarded it secretly, but she didn’t make it to the actual day as she passed away the day before Melanie’s assembly.)  Melanie’s “Meme” (Mernell) made sure that Melanie got to have many summer experiences in 2025, going to Tiger bounce camps and TRYPS, a children’s theater program, even when Mernell wasn’t around anymore. 😢  Holly feels very grateful for all the family who showed up and poured out love in all different kinds of ways..  Just been a really rough year….  Holly is still working as lead teacher for the preschool’s highest grade level and preparing for her fourth year of graduates in May 2026.  Dave has been living In Missouri for two years now and works in the culinary department of Sam’s Club. With a bit of exciting news to end on, Holly has now accepted the position as head dance coach for Battle High School in Columbia, which conveniently is the high school district where Holly and Melanie live.  Holly is very excited to get back into dance and choreographing again!  Holly is hoping for a positive & upbeat year in 2026. 🤞

        The frigid, dry air in January caused me to have seven scary nosebleeds, leading to two 911 calls and Debbie’s father taking me to the emergency room in Columbia late one night to have my nose cauterized. And I joined the ranks with Type 2 diabetes. To Debbie’s great chagrin, I have enjoyed recording many videos and photos of celestial objects through my 60-year-old telescope, including a total lunar eclipse and a nice lunar occultation of Mars. I witnessed my best Northern Lights in November. My St. Louis Cardinals had another subpar year in 2025. My good one-time coffee partner between 2023 - 2024, Virginia Baker, got married to a very fine man, Phillip Harrington, on December 29, 2024. I am using Debbie's postal address on these envelopes. And for the first time in 33 years, I am not using the Madonna and Child Christmas stamps this year as I have a great oversupply of Forever stamps.  I was one of the many who was shocked that the Roman Catholic Church now has a pope from the United States, Pope Leo XIV, for the first time in its 2,000-year history. (To quote the reaction of some of the ultra-sophisticated, "Who-da-thunk-it?")                     

           This past year was one in which our family was hit hard by losing three special family members. First, I want to belatedly mention losing a friend of mine who passed away last year in 2024, Lucille Grawe, 73, of Quincy, Illinois, who I met soon after I moved to Hannibal in 1991 and with whom I enjoyed her company and playing many games of 17-point pitch. My second Hannibal family doctor, Dr. Lawrence Nichols, 63, tragically died in February after retiring only three months earlier. My children’s half-brother, Brett, shocked us all when he passed away in February at age 34. My ex-wife, Mernell, asked me to babysit Brett every afternoon of his kindergarten year which led me to feel that Brett was much like my own son and we would go on to have many fun times together.

          Our family lost a very special member on May 22, 2025 when my wife of 12 years during 1976 - 1988,  Mernell King, 67, lost her couragous two-year battle with pancreatic cancer in which she was a brave fighter.   While Fate led Mernell and me to go our separate ways in 1987, Mernell was the good mother of our two very special children, Johnathan & Holly. Mernell and I had many very good and special and memorable years together.

        I am really at a loss to find adequate words for telling of the passing of my five siblings’ and my mother, Roberta Jarboe, who passed away on August 9th, only ten days before what would have been her 93rd birthday. Seven people spoke kind (and humorous) words for Mother at her Celebration of Life.  We were all grateful to learn more about not only our mother’s life, but we also learned more about the lives that she touched.  For the past    10 years or so, I and my five siblings have been keenly appreciative of our mother's amazing longevity, but her passing is still very sad for all of us, of course. A lot of credit goes to my sister, Alicia, and her husband, Brian, and my sister, Angela, for the constant loving care that they gave Mother during the past few years that added much to the quality and quantity of her life. In a spiritual way, our mother seems to still be with us.

          I will end with a true story that occurred in my mother's hospital room on August 1, 2025 that reflects my mother's keen sense of humor. At this time, our mother had trouble communicating, but she could understand what her children were saying in her room. My sister, Diane, pointed out to me that we could see a life flight helicopter through the window of Mother's room. I was sitting at Mother's bedside and I recalled an experience of mine involving my mother 19 years earlier when I had a heart attack and a life flight helicopter flew me from Hannibal to Columbia that quite actually saved my life on August 2, 2006. After two days in the hospital, and the next four days recuperating at the farm under my mother's care, Mother drove me back to Hannibal where I walked a few blocks from my home and back every day to build up my strength. One day, a German shepherd came out in the street, snarling and growling as it slowly circled me and it nipped me pretty painfully on the back of my left thigh. I eventually told my mother about this in our next phone call and she got on me to get to a doctor and she made a few calls to the animal control officer in Hannibal about her concern about a dog biting me.   A couple of weeks later, at my mother's childhood home (which is only 3 miles from where I grew up on a farm), my mother was still hounding me about getting good care for my injury, which looked worse than it actually was.  As I was sitting in a living room chair and my mother standing behind me, and my cousin, Lance, sitting across from me, I finally and angrily told my mother, "Do you know why I'm not too worried about this dog bite?!! It's because I.....have lived....a CHARMED LIFE!!!!!" And in a "mocking her son," rising voice, my mother replied, "Yes, you could have told your helicopter pilot, 'Don't worry about crashing because I have lived a charmed life!!' " causing me to have a good laugh!  And as I was relating this story in Mother's hospital room on August 1, 2025, my mother had a huge smile on her face, recalling one of the many gems of humor that my mother and I had created over the years.

 I hope that you and your family have a prosperous 2026!    

Greg

 

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