Joyous Holiday Blessings from the Beltz Family!

Hello!  We hope this finds you and your family healthy and happy! As for us, we cannot wait for this year to be over. You know, some years seem to just fly by.  While others feel more like you are slogging through cold mud, with someone holding on to the back of your shirt the whole time. I know, right?  So yeah, good bye 2015!

Actually, we did lose one of our own tribe when Keith’s Dad, Laverne passed away from heart failure in April of this year. We miss him and love him and GO UTES! It wasn’t pretty for the Red in the end, but a win is a win. We know Papa was there in spirit and letting the expletives fly!

As for us, I lost my job at Wells Fargo in January 2015 after 27 years.  I fought it and was re-instated in April 2015.  Then Keith lost his job at Hudson after over 25 years in June 2015.  He found a new job in August 2015.  Then I lost my job again, (yes the same freaking job!) in September 2015.  Then Zachary decided to quit his job at Hudson in October 2015. At this point we decided to move to Disneyland!  As it turns out, you can only visit there, you can’t live there.  Bummer.  So we stayed a week and came home.

So Zach is 22 and thankfully has found a new job with Tele-Performance in their Customer Support / Gaming Area.  I knew all those video games had to pay off some time!  He has enjoyed having the Holidays off to relax and experiment with his beard growing abilities. It takes him about a week to grow a full beard. That kid had hair down his back and on his back from the day he was born!  Zach has started attending the Singles Ward on Sundays. (Thank you Lord!)  He will become an Elder in January, 2016. Zach is a good egg.  He is a Chicago Bears fan, a Utah Jazz fan and bleeds Ute red like his Papa!

However, Zach and Keith made a foolish mistake while living in Disneyland this year.  They chose to eat the BBQ Chicken skewers at the Bengal BBQ in Adventureland, across from the Jungle Ride. Fair warning to all, the both of them spent the next day with a case of the rumbly tumblies along with violent diarrhea.  They missed our visit to Old Town in San Diego and had to stay close to the porcelain throne in the air conditioned condo.  It was too bad really because it was a beautiful day in Old Town and Holland and I had to spend several lonely hours browsing the fabulous boutiques…all by ourselves, alone…with no one standing outside the shops tapping their toes and waiting to leave. Poor diarrhea stricken, sick kitties.

Speaking of Keith, after losing his Dad in April and leaving his job at Hudson, it took a little bit to get up and move on. But he quickly found a new position at a competitive printer and was able to join Aspen Press in August.  So far, things are good for him and for us. Their summer party was a paid and catered day at Lagoon, a local amusement park, and their Holiday Party was a private showing of the new Star Wars movie with drinks and popcorn provided!  We believe the Force is with us at Aspen Press.

Our Holland turned sweet 16 this year!  One day this summer she announced she was ready to learn to drive…with Mom.  Mom?!  Why Mom? I am the worst driver I know, except for maybe my sister Chris. Never the less, the rite of passage began, as it did with many of us, at the church parking lot.  I have to say, I was as cool as a cucumber and so, very, patient as a coach.  I swelled with pride as she hit about every other curb.  I am a curb hitter myself, as many of you know.  She takes after me.  At one point she asked for a tissue and I looked over to find her drenched in sweat with a droplet about to fall from the end of her nose.  I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, she is more nervous than I am!’  So we took a tissue break and soldiered on.  After more than an hour in the church parking lot practicing her driving skills, we decided to head home. I told Holland she could drive us home, it was just down 7800 S. and around the corner on 1000 East. She was mortified.  I told her she would be fine and she was feeling more comfortable so she agreed, and I am an idiot.

The minute she turned onto the ‘real road’ my mind voice began screaming at me, ‘MISTAKE! MISTAKE!’  There were cars coming at us, cars parked on the CURB…curb hitter!  Left hand turn!  Pedestrians!  Now I needed a tissue, and a Xanax and possibly an adult diaper.  I began sweating profusely and my ‘cool mom’ exterior melted and ran down my back and my front in rivulets.  Of course, we made it home and Dad was standing there, waiting in the driveway.  Holland jumped out of the car and proudly announced, “Well Dad, I know how to drive now!”  I gave him the big thumbs up, walked directly into my bedroom, took that Xanax and ate a Hagen Daz ice cream bar before I got the vapors.

Holland will be a senior at Hillcrest in the fall.  She enjoyed her first Prom this year and is a member of the Husky Club and an excellent artist.  She also went to Girls Camp and had a great experience, especially with her Mom as the (now retired) Camp Director.  Her favorite things are cheese dogs from Hot Dog on a Stick (New! Hooray!), her iPhone and iPad Mini, Scary Movies, (The Visit…hello!?) and her puppy Bayja, the princess diva dog.  Holland is a beautiful light in our home.

And at least our lights our still on…LOL!  Kids, you CAN afford to contribute to your company’s 401K or an IRA. 30 years of contributions saved my family’s behind during this year of unexpected and unpleasant surprises. However, it will not save your sanity.   Fortunately, we have the Light of Christ and our Faith in God to help and guide us. Not to mention the four of us are still, heavily medicated.

For me, the roller coaster of this year of unemployment, re-instatement, unemployment again and finally the loss of my career has been a lot like a ride my sister and I took at Lagoon this year. We affectionately refer to Lagoon as Galoon in our family, so we will go with that.  This year at Galoon, we rode the brand new roller coaster called ‘The Cannibal’.  When I was fired the first time from Wells Fargo, there was a long and painful process of sending resumes and applications and then waiting…and waiting,  for a response. As it was with The Cannibal, we had a long wait in line in the hot sun, fretting about it. And then I was given my job back. Time to get on the Roller Coaster. As I stepped into the Cannibal and rode the elevator stories high into the air, I felt excited and afraid for this new adventure.  Then, the elevator stopped and the doors opened to I could see the valley of the Shadow of Death, or it may have been Davis County.  I believe I caught a glimpse of the waving cowboy in Wendover.  It was exhilarating, for about 3 seconds and then I realized I was about to drop off the end of the track I thought I was on.  I looked wildly at my sister and she looked at me and said, “Mistake, big mistake.” I turned to the 7 year old sitting to my left and said, “I believe this to be big mistake on my part.” And then we sailed off the end of the world and down the Cannibal’s throat.  And I walked right back into Wells Fargo’s Executive offices.  Just like The Cannibal, it was scary at first and I thought I had made a mistake.  In hindsight maybe it was, but I trusted this Company, just like I trusted Galoon.

Going back to my job was kind of like the corporate version of “Lord of the Flies” and I ended up on the sharp end of the stick. Pun fully intended. Once the ride was over and I struggled to stand on jello legs and make my way to the Cannibal’s exit, shaking and crawling along the handrails. Dry heaving and having a hot flash all at the same time. I look up to see, by the grace of God, my sister, with both hands on the trash can sweating profusely and dry heaving just like me. And I am not alone. I realize sometimes you just need to sit one out with a cold drink before moving on to the next thing.  Just do something  benign, like squirting water into the clowns’ mouth until you win the BIG prize or grow a salad garden.  Then you must start over.  Which is what I have done.  I will start Culinary School in January, 2016 and I am working as the evening Catering / Bistro Associate at the Courtyard by Marriott in Layton. Either way it is costly, but will be rewarding in the end. I will not be returning to Wells Fargo or The Cannibal, anytime soon.

So before this gets too sappy, which would fly in the face of the point of this annual Holiday letter, let me share a recent, classic “DeeAnn” experience.   Just after Thanksgiving I had a bout with Bronchial Pneumonia. I thankfully recovered relatively quickly, but during this time I had an incident. I was about to eat a bowl of Coco Puffs one morning and as I took a bite of cereal I had a coughing spasm and actually choked on my Coco Puffs. I was in my room, silently choking and turning purple, Zach and Keith were down stairs. I could not breathe or speak. I finally put my fingers down my throat and was able to vomit. But I began coughing violently and could not get a breath. There was a terrible pain in my right lung. But at least I was loud enough to get them to come running. Again, I could not speak and I was covered in tears, puke and snot all over my face. A pretty girl, is like a melody… The pain in my lung was incredible and I realized I had aspirated the freaking Coco Puffs into my lung. The coughing was hard and unforgiving and to make matters worse Keith was smacking me on the back like I was a two year old choking in their high chair. I managed to croak out ‘911” and then help was on the way.  Keith carried me out to the living room, but all I could think of was that the cast of Backdraft was coming to my house and I was covered in puke and snot and I wasn’t wearing a bra.  I am telling myself ‘DO NOT pee or crap yourself now!’  Anyhoo, they came, they helped and the Coco Puffs dissolved and, like I said at the beginning, we survived.

So Life is good!  But you will also get a lot of unexpected line drives right to the face. So keep your mitt up.  I will be sticking to protein shakes for breakfast and… starting over.  But it is about enjoying the climb even more than reaching your destination.

We wish you a Happy New Year, with fresh starts and new adventures! Have a fabulous holiday with those you love and care about the very most!

With all the love and joy we have to give,  The Beltz Family
Keith, DeeAnn, Zach & Holland & Bayja.