Snyder Family Christmas Letter 2019

December 21, 2019

It's Saturday, December 21st at 6:13a.m. as I begin this letter.  I have been a little stressed that it is so late in the month and I am just now starting this letter.  As I look back, I realize that exactly one year ago today, I was working on the 2018 letter.  So, at least I'm not later than I was last year!

I have procrastinated about this letter because it takes a lot of reflection to look over the entire year and write about it, and honestly, I was dreading it.  I have been concerned that I wouldn't have anything interesting to write about.  I guess we'll see won't we?  

Me and Jessica Easter 1987

In January we survived the 2nd anniversary of losing Jessica.  I took the day off did some self-care; I exercised, did a yoga class, had a facial and did some scrap booking.  As the 3rd anniversary approaches, I haven't decided how I will make it through the day.  I anticipate it will be something similar. 

Me, Gladys & Austin Coker the scholarship recipient 

I was fortunate to visit Texas twice this year.   In May, I presented the Jessica Lane Scholarship at Petrolia High School's graduation. I was so excited that Gladys Duncan (aka MawMaw) was able to be there with me.  It was an honor and a privilege to be there in person to present this award.

Me, Denny & Taylor

In October, we went to see Denny Love get married.  Denny made a special place for Jessica in her wedding party.  This is a testament to the people in Jessica's life and to the kind of person my daughter was.

Jessica's place in Denny's wedding

This year, Anthony and I had a goal of visiting 12 new wineries.  I am happy to report that we met our goal!  In April, to celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary we did a wine "tour" in the Charlottesville/Shenandoah Valley Area and visited 6 wineries over a 2 day period.  This year we visited Mountain View, Valerie Hill, James Charles, Arterra, Stinson, King Family, Pollack, Afton Mountain, Ox-Eye, Morais, Fleetwood Farms and Stone Mountain.  What is more amazing is that I actually remember every one of these visits!  We joined a new wine club at Valerie Hill and said goodbye to our Willowcroft wine club membership.  

Our wine "tour" booty

We did a lot of traveling this year.  In January we did our first cruise of the year.  In April, we went to Tennessee to visit family.  In May, I went to Texas.  In June, we went to Vegas for an HR conference.  In July, we went to New York to see Leighton, Kavya and Rachel over Father's Day.   In September we took our second cruise but our first cruise as platinum members (yay baby!).  In October, we went back to Texas.  In November, we went back to New York to see the kids and in December we returned to Tennessee for our first annual Christmas open house.  At the time, I am writing this, we have no trips planned for 2020 . . . yet

Our visit to NYC in November

Dylan's pecan pie

Dylan is doing well.  He is still working at Sheetz.  He works a 2pm to 10pm shift so we don't see him a lot.  This year at Thanksgiving, we made a great pecan pie together. 


Leighton is doing great and loving his job.  He transitioned from part time to full time this year and we are so excited for him.  

Rachel made the big move to NY earlier in the year.  She is a barista in a coffee shop and, let me tell you, she is the family's subject matter expert on coffee and coffee drinks.  

When we went to New York, we were excited to see where everyone works and Leighton's work projects.  We even got to see Rachel in action as she made our order at Cafe Regular!

In last year's letter, I mentioned the wall that I painted our initials in.  I am happy to report that we finally painted the wall over the Thanksgiving holiday!  It was a difficult chore and took a lot of time -- 2 hours of prep and 4 hours of painting but we did it and it looks great!   

This year has been a bit of a struggle for me as I have dealt with feelings of bitterness.  I don't walk around bitter all day every day, but it surfaced much more frequently this year and many times, I allowed myself to feel bitter longer than I should have.  It's not something I am proud of but I felt it was important to share.  As we approach the 3 year mark, I still cry regularly and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about Jessica and miss her terribly.  I am thankful for all her friends that still keep in touch with me and help keep her memory alive.  I am also thankful for my friends who continue to check in on me and allow me to talk about her pretty much in every conversation we have.  I spend a lot of time trying to stay connected to people so they know they matter to me.  I hope that if Jessica can look down and see how I try to honor her, she would be happy with my efforts.

As we approach a new year, I have no goals set yet.  Anthony will be excited to know that I have no house projects planned, although, I am confident I will come up with several over the year.  The only real focus I have is to invest in the people I love by staying connected to them.  

Me, Anthony & Jessica Bear heading to Miami

Merry Christmas!

Anthony & Cindy Snyder