Merry Christmas!
May this letter find you enjoying the blessings of the holiday season,
and looking forward to a new year! We say goodbye to 2013 with full hearts, for
it has been a year of both great joys and huge challenges. In retrospect, we
are starting to see that all these events – both the happy and the sad – were
gifts, because they changed us for the better. We’d like to tell you about the
gifts 2013 brought, and to wish you the same in the new year:
The
Gift of Health – Many of you know that Shawn was bucked off a horse while gathering
pairs in early June (two days before branding), and fractured a vertebra in his
neck. As a result, he wore a cervical collar for a month, and had to learn to
manage the ranch from the sidelines. He’s back to doing most of his normal
activities now, though he still has some stiffness and weakness from the
accident. He could have been paralyzed,
or worse, but, thank God, he wasn’t. We
know how lucky we were; several acquaintances were not as lucky this year. We
learned quickly what a blessing it is to have health, and the ability to move
and live independently. Almost all of us
have had health challenges this year; as I write, Shawn is also recovering from
sinus surgery. But, none of us has a
terminal illness or a debilitating disability, so for that, we are grateful.
The
Gift of Family Time - Carmen graduated from high school last spring
and is now attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where Laura also
goes. We’ve taken the extra leaves out
of the dining room table, and are adjusting to having only six people in the
house. The older girls have been able to come home for branding, holidays, and
hunting season; we take those times as blessings. Laura and Carmen spend a lot
of time together in Laramie as well; I think Carmen sleeps in Laura’s apartment
as often as she does in her dorm room! It’s nice to see that they, too,
appreciate family time.
The
Gift of Dreams Realized - One of my personal highlights in 2013 was the
publication of my first book, Circling
Back Home: A Plainswoman’s Journey. After a ten-year process, it’s been wonderful to have an actual book to
hold! I’ve been able to do readings in
Deadwood, Timber Lake, and Gillette, and have been humbled with the feedback
from people who have read the book. Others
in the Acord family achieved dreams this year:
Carmen received her state FFA degree, bought her first car, and, of
course, graduated; Laura was promoted to assistant manager at the Subway store
in Laramie and declared her major for college; Maria had her best horse show
yet at county fair, was elected junior advisor for the local FFA chapter, and
got her drivers’ license; Cody won grand champion with the pony he trained for
fair; Emily won reserve champion with her photography exhibit; and Katie received
purple ribbons on two baking entries, and a Young Author award last spring. One
accomplishment I’m very proud of is that, despite being injured in June, Shawn
was still able to train a mustang and compete again at the Mustang Million in
Fort Worth in September.
The
Gift of Dreams Postponed - It’s good to still have dreams to pursue, and we
have plenty of those! Although Shawn was
able to compete again in Fort Worth, he didn’t place as high in the rankings as
he’d hoped, so he is still planning on some type of horse competition – mustang
or other – in 2014. The accident also
waylaid some of the horse sale plans we had for last year, so we’ll try again
with those. Maria had to sell her barrel horse, Elvis, in August, so she still
hasn’t been able to find the right replacement and compete as much as she would
like. We hope to find the right horse for her, and for Cody, who has outgrown
ponies! And we’d hoped to do a family
vacation in 2013, but life got in the way – so maybe this summer.
The
Gift of Work - Shawn still manages the Allison branch of the Faddis-Kennedy Cattle
Company; we’ve been here eight years and counting now. He has implemented major changes in herd
management; completely rebuilt the old set of corrals; and made numerous other
improvements on the place. There is, always, more to do, but we are blessed to
be able to live this lifestyle. I continue to coordinate services for the Young
Adult department of the public library, and so far have been able to keep my
four-day/week schedule. I will be able to travel to Biloxi, MS and Estes Park,
CO next spring for work – a definite perk.
As I mentioned, Laura was able to find a job in Laramie at a local
Subway last winter, and within a few months was promoted to assistant manager.
I think she works too much for a college student, but it’s good to know she can
handle that level of responsibility at her age. Carmen also had a job for
several months at the local Taco John’s/Good Times restaurant, and did well at
it. She quit when she moved, and will need
to look for a job in Laramie soon. Maria is also job-hunting, but in the
meantime can do day work for the ranch, so she is lucky there.
The
Gift of Old & New Friends - One of the neatest benefits of publishing my
book has been the opportunity to re-connect with friends and relatives with
whom I’d lost touch, so 2013 has been very special for me in that way. It amazes me how, with some people, the
connections might be faded but are still there, despite the years that have
disappeared. We’ve all met our share of new friends, as well – particularly the
older three girls, who are busy with college, high school and FFA
activities. I hope those new connections
will become the old friends they still have twenty and thirty years from
now! With a graduation party, our
branding, various birthday celebrations, and, of course, hunting season, we
have been able to see many of our family and friends this year. It was
particularly humbling to see how many neighbors and friends showed up to help
us brand when they heard about Shawn’s accident.
The
Gift of a New Year – and a new opportunity to make memories with the people
we love. We hope to see many of you in 2014; may your lives be as blessed as
ours.
Love,
Darcy, Shawn, Laura, Carmen, Maria, Cody, Emily
& Katie
