Holiday Letter 2025

Currently pet-less, I’ll wait a year or so before considering having a pet or so once again. We lost two of our three furry little pets this year. Cocoa Bean died on his 8^th birthday in December 2024. In people years, that’s 144 years old. He was such a good little man too. He got to play with his bunny sisters three hours per day free-range in three rooms. He copied their good litter habits too, while he was out exploring, eating and sometimes napping next to them. The three pets kept each other company. Cocoa Bean was my Guinea Pig.

In February this year, Aspen Norm’s half wild bunny who was about to have her ninth birthday (which would be about her late eighties if she were human) had a massive stroke on her left side. This occurred without notice, I stayed with her, praying, talking to her and gently petting her with light lavender till she passed 30 minutes later.

As I was preparing for my 2^nd solo drive from the east coast to the west coast, I awaited the arrival of our youngest daughter who’d finished her sophomore year at Binghamton University. She’d been maintaining nothing lower than a 3.9 GPA in her major of Biology. She was just in time for me to have to make a decision on her bunny Nibbles, who now was 10.5 years old plus. She was nearing an equal to a people age of 106 years old. Nibbles had been on two medications for her arthritis and her spine. Meloxicam and Gabapentin. It’d gotten to the point that with Aspen no longer alive, Nibbles only had me to clean her. And what was worse was that Nibbles was no longer capable of cleaning her underside. I was doing it for her every seven to twelve days; however, it’d gotten worse six weeks after Aspen passed. It’d increased to my cleaning Nibbles underside every 36 to 48 hours. She quite the patient dossal bunny rarely resisted the 10-to-20-minute cleaning I had to do. Nibbles was ever more affectionate, giving me kisses that I’d never experienced before from any bunny, let alone her. Our female Guinea Pig, Cocoa who passed in June 2016 was the only other pet I remember giving me kisses. Nibbles would treat me like I was her bunny family and try to clean me as I went near her, pet her and fed her. It was probably the sweetest thing I’d ever experienced from an animal, with few exceptions. I had a few clients’ pets who would lean on me as if to heal me as I worked on their ailing owner. It’d been a comforting vibe from those pets.

Finally, the day came in late May when I had to put Nibbles down. Toby made the appointment as it had been her bunny; it was too much for her to accompany me and I understood that. So, I drove Nibbles to the appointment solo. Finally, Nibbles and I were called and brought into an exam room. The vet who I’d never met before, she in her late forties asked, “How old is she?” I stated, “Ten years and over six months old.” She looked surprised and said, “We’ve never had a lop-eared bunny in here this age. Usually, we see them at this stage when they are between five and eight years old.” I remarked, “Must be the organic kale my husband and I did our best to provide the right balance with their hay.” I added as the vet checked Nibbles out, looked in her ears and eyes. “Too, I think her hearing and eyesight have been pretty good; however, her eating and water drinking have greatly diminished, and she can no longer clean herself, which hadn’t been an issue until Aspen died three months ago. Aspen our other bunny did a lot of cleaning of Nibbles on a regular basis. I’ve been cleaning Nibbles underside much over the past eight months. As well, Nibbles is making too many mistakes, and her back legs are almost completely gone. She’s been turning down snacky that she always enjoyed over the last three weeks. I am taking an eighteen-day trip for our oldest’ graduation in about two weeks and I don’t want Nibbles to die while our pet-sitter is caring for her, as well our younger daughter to experience that without me around.” The vet nodded. She was still in near disbelief at Nibbles’ age. “When was her birthday?” I responded, “November 14^th, 2014.” The vet was still stunned. “She got good care.”

That day forty-five minutes later I was on my way home with Nibbles now deceased in the bunny box we’d originally brought her home in mid-February 2015 from the pet store. I waited three hours before burying her. I kept her in the partially closed box with comfy towels and fleece with hay in the kitchen. While a friend consoled Toby, I proceeded to clean up all the pet items in the dining room, the towels/rugs I’d used for Nibbles, so her spine wouldn’t become further damaged due to her weakened back legs. I’d prepare many items for donations to a pet shelter. As well cleaned up items that two other pet owners could use. My pet sitter requested a few things and helped deliver the items I knew the pet rescue shelter could use. After three hours of cleaning, I petted Nibbles soft fur for one last time, rigor mortis had set in. I brought the box with her now laying quietly in it to our backyard area where Cocoa Bean and Aspen were now buried and I began to dig as I still spoke to her as if she were still alive. It was with a heavy heart as I lay her in her grave wrapped in a comfy fleece towel piece and began covering her. After I completed the burial I said a little prayer for her and went back inside our home, sighed, looked around. It appeared as if an echo could now be heard on our first floor, where once two of our pets were free-range 24/7.

As life moves along, I was set to pack and double check the directions to each hotel I was to stay at along my drive out west in June. Our youngest would be flying out for a few days for graduation as she had summer classes, as well as her job lifeguarding, as she had the past few summers. Sarah’s graduation from UCLA in Chemical Engineering with a niche in Bio-Molecular studies would be graduating June 14^th. Sarah worked year-round since age fourteen. She worked as much as 40 hours a week in her senior year of high school, and now in her senior year of college she worked up to 20 hours a week for SoCal Gas interning since June 2024. In addition to that she worked a part-time job on campus at the UCLA gym during her senior year at UCLA. Before that internship and the UCLA gym job she worked for Starbucks in Westwood/Los Angeles California and when back in New Jersey she worked at the Starbucks in Ramsey from age 18-21. The summers if back home in New Jersey she had anywhere from 2-4 places of employment in one week. One summer she’d hit a 70-hour work week.

Inbetween her graduation week and her beginning a new full-time corporate chemical engineering position six weeks after graduation. Which is with an international company in California, she had time and quickly found a small apartment within 40 minutes of her place of work in Thousand Oaks. I arrived at my Hollywood California hotel on June 11^th, I’d driven nearly 3,000 miles in one week with a two day stay in the Black Mountains of Utah from June 8^th-June 11^th where I ran, walked and hiked all in Cedar City, Utah. 

Then leaving Utah and arriving at Sarah’s new apartment in the afternoon. Six days of travelling 3,000 miles was adventurous and enjoyable.  That afternoon to early evening Sarah and I worked on ordering some furnishings she’d yet to purchase. She had a fridge, and a bed. The apartment came with great closet spaces, a kitchen island, and good counter space. Because I drove, I was able to bring her $400 worth of dry goods from the organic market I worked at and saved nearly $150 on my purchase with my store employee discount. Too, there were duplicate gifts Norman, and I received in 1984 that we’d never used. Some were still in their boxes. I brought her a brand-new frying pan with stainless steel cover, a hot plate, a beautiful streak knife set and bunch of other items she gladly accepted.

The next day, Toby would be flying in and spending time on UCLA campus with Sarah doing final graduate photography, as Toby has an eye for taking great photography. Then by late afternoon Sarah would be driving Toby to me in Hollywood at the hotel room I’d got us that backed up to Hollywood Heights. I discovered this hotel that was one block away from one of the most peaceful neighborhoods and a mountainside that I could take my daily runs on within a couple blocks of the hotel. I stayed there after my cross-country drive in 2024 to help Sarah move into and inspect her Senior apartment that she would be sharing with three other seniors.

The next step would be the day before graduation to first take our daughters out for a late lunch and then off to a tech store for Sarah to purchase a television. I let my two techy daughters grapple over which television would benefit Sarah the most, I just paid the bill. LOL. 

Before we knew it we were standing in a long line on a sunny, blistering hot Saturday afternoon with our graduation tickets. I couldn’t wait to meet Sarah’s friend Jaime, who’s a Vet Tech, soon to attend veterinary school. What a delight. I told her with her being such a stand up good friend that it felt as though she indeed was my third daughter. After hearing Sarah’s name and receiving her diploma, the graduation ceremony a few hours later was over. The four of us went to a fancy schmancy steak restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd across from the beach on the Pacific Ocean. We had the same great waiter Sarah and I had last year. Too he remembered Sarah and me. I treated us, and nothing was a disappointment there. They celebrated Sarah graduating with a sparkler dessert. It was quite the surprise. Then after I paid the bill, we crossed the boulevard and headed to the beach where we took pictures before the sun went down. I drove Jaime and Sarah back to where Sarah had parked her car, then Toby and I drove back to our Hollywood Hotel that evening.

The next day Toby flew home, and I began my drive back to New Jersey the day after that. I made it home 3,000 more miles and six days later with other stories of adventures I’d blogged later in the month, after I’d gotten back to my job at the organic market the next week. Two months later, I decided to give two weeks’ notice as I enjoyed my time working there, but spiritually it was no longer a song in my soul. Besides, I knew I wanted to make a trip up to Vermont at least once if not twice this autumn for colors and the ambiance I’ve always enjoyed in Vermont. Too, the running in the farmlands and wooded areas, and taking walks through the downtown areas of a variety of towns. I knew before all this I’d have a meeting with a documentarian that had been doing work with me since January 2011.  We’d have lunch in September, and I’d head up to lower Vermont that afternoon for a few days mid-week. As Toby would be back at college and Sarah was now settled in California, living and working there.

Five weeks later, I’d be in other areas of Vermont, staying at three different hotels (areas) over a seven-day period. That was the vacation I’d originally planned four days for myself and then found a way to extend it and visit an area Norman, and I spent many Christmas’, ski weeks and some summers before and after becoming parents.  It was quite the visit, it felt spiritually comforting to be there. And some people remembered our little family from the summer of 2019 and before, which added to the comfort.

While I was on my travels, I tried a few different meals and desserts I’d never experienced. I figured out how to replicate them, and both were a hit with Toby when she arrived home for Thanksgiving. Sarah realized with work that coming home for the holidays would not be feasible, yet she will come some time in February to New Jersey for a week. Her job then will become hybrid with remote workdays, and she will have vacation days earned by then. I told her I’d make her a Thanksgiving type spread for her when she arrives.

Now with the extra time I reconnected this summer with a friend of 26 years. She is getting her PhD in Child Psychology. As she would like me to help her edit a book on alienation. Too, I suggested another book that we could tag team on our experiences that are similar with the parents we had. So, January begins more business and being busy as usual.---Jody-Lynn Reicher