Dearest friends and family,
We hope that your 2023 Christmas was full of wonder and blessings. On December 20th, our five year old granddaughter Maggie was lying in bed. 5 days away and already unable to sleep; too much excitement. There was a party at the Boys and Girls club. Her world stage debut in the elementary revival of a kindergarten Christmas program. Too much excitement. Sleep was a long way off. Maggie was laying beside Grace’s bed holding her hand, stroking it. Maggie looked up at Grace and said “Mommy, just 5 more sleeps before Christmas.” A few moments passed and Maggie said, “After that there are 4 more sleeps until Christmas.” A pause for silence, “Then 3, then 2, then 1 more sleep and then it’s Christmas.”
I know. I know. We are living vicariously through the wonder of a five year old. In reality, the lovely Miss Beverly and I were exhausted by noon after we, Viki, and Vaeh had opened gifts and they were heading to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s for more gifts. They left for the party while Bev and Roger walked across the room and grabbed a couple of afghans, then headed back to our respective chairs and took a 2 hour nap.
We set this scene to highlight our belief that Monday Christmases are the greatest. Saturday to get the last of the shopping done. Sunday for church and candlelight service. Monday for the big event and Tuesday as another day off work. Yes, Monday Christmases are the best.
2023 has been a great year for the Sharritt’s.
Maggie’s incandescent excitement for Christmas and just about everything else.
Watching grandson Quinn change through each infant stage into the sweetest contemplative climber.
The lovely Miss Beverly visiting Chicago monthly to get grandma time with Quinn.
Maggie’s sleepovers doing farm stuff until she collapses.
Slivers of time up in the shop for Roger to put together a clacking roller toy.
8 days up at the dunes for summer vacation as an extended family.
Viki graduated from PHHS in May and we celebrated with wings and hot fudge sundaes! She was the dried flower specialist for the farm over the summer, keeping up with bunching any blooms that came home from market to hang in the storage barn. This fall, she tried a joint program with Ivy Tech and Ball State, living on campus and decided to move back from the dorm after a semester, realizing she didn't like it—kudos for trying. She's currently living back at home and attending Ivy Tech for a dental assistant program.
Vaeh is attending the county vocational program for welding as a junior. She was a sprinter and long jumper for the varsity track team last spring and even tried pole vaulting. She worked a lot of Saturday markets for the farm, honing her sales skills, keeping Maggie in line, or just looking for the best macaroons to purchase. She also wins the “let’s see who can tear down/load market fastest contest” so that she could go home and nap.
The “slippery flower growing slope” that the lovely Miss Beverly and Roger embarked on six years ago is over . . . Psych! It is still growing strong. It’s just that it is no longer a slippery slope. It has morphed into a full blown Olympic luge course. We are careening downhill at ever higher speeds. From narcissus in late April to mums in November, Roger grew more flowers than you could shake a hoe at. And the lovely Miss Beverly, found even more inventive ways to get them into people’s lives than ever before.
We had a great snapdragon season. The cold frame kept them alive even through the 10 below polar vortex. They bloomed for more than two months. On the slippery slope of money flying out of the bank, we went out and bought an electric delivery van. We snagged the coveted vanity license plate “SNAPWGN” to haul all of those snapdragons to markets and customers.
There was the late June day when we had a U-pick event at the farm and severe weather rolled through. While the Ingalls sirens were going off, a mother and daughter expressed their angst on our front porch. Daughter, who had moved to the east coast and was visiting, was sure that the world was ending. Mom, a hearty Hoosier, said, “I know the siren is going off but it really doesn’t look that bad.” Mom was right. They made it to the hoop house right before it rained hard for a few minutes. Everyone got a quick steam bath and an armload of snapdragons.
The lovely Miss Beverly is rocking balancing her PATINS work with supervising the flower crew that has grown to 6 part time employees. Roger utilized technology to make video instructions for the crew each evening for the jobs needed the next day. The Gen Z crew quickly learned how to interpret “that patch over yonder” with the blurred upside down video or they texted Roger for clarification. Our crew member Jameson claims he can speak “Roger” and is available to interpret for the others.
Having a great crew has freed Bev up for those Chicago visits and helped with her luge ride into all things marketing on the farm. She really enjoys selling beautiful things that people love to have in their house.
Roger spent the early part of the year recovering from hip surgery. He and Marlin are happy that he can balance on his right leg while using the left foot to rub the dog’s belly for a minute at a time now. Everybody wins. Roger got his leg stronger. Marlin got his belly rubbed. The left hip, while a bit cranky, is behaving well enough that it doesn’t need replacing at this time. That is a big blessing. Retirement is still a distance in the future, but he can glimpse it as he careens down his luge run through all the aspects of production at the farm. Only a handful of tax seasons to get through before he joyfully shakes his hoe at flowers full time, and can get the crew good and confused in person.
That is about it. To paraphrase a bible story that I have always loved, basically John the Baptist was having a bad day so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus are you who you said you were. Jesus basically said the work is getting done (Matt. 11:2). While the question is different, know that the work of a blessed life is getting done.
Take care.
Roger, Bev, Victoria and Nevaeh
