Admiraal Family
Professor Admiraal
English 101
25 December 2015
Christmas Letter
December is time for lights, evergreens, candy canes, and stockings. For the majority of the Baltimore Admiraals, it is also time for term papers. An important skill in writing a research paper is being able to integrate quotes smoothly. In case anyone on the Admiraal card list would like examples of this, the members of our family have contributed quotes, and the resident English teacher has skillfully integrated them into the essay below.
To lead off, Lucas Admiraal, who will be 16 before we know it, melds his love of literature and his burgeoning eccentricity with words from the King James Version of the Bible. James explains that one reason we lack is “because Ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because Ye ask amiss” (2080) in order to satisfy our own greed. James, here, seems to be discussing prayer, rather than visits to Santa.
Reading the KJV and waiting in line for Santa can both be difficult. Thus, Johanna’s quote shows the value of challenging oneself. The 17-year-old senior borrowed the words of Anne Lamott to describe the value of doing “uncomfortable things. It’s weight training for life.”
Literal weight training isn’t a big part of Drew’s 19-year-old life, although he does exercise a lot. He embodies the true spirit of this Christmas letter exercise by texting, “I’m not sure what to use. Can you just write it for me?” (Admiraal). Perhaps his own term papers and finals at the end of his first semester at the University of Maryland, College Park, have rendered him too distracted to come up with a quote of his own. Though he kind of did, didn’t he?
Coming up with a quote shouldn’t pose any problem for the Admiraal mom, who reads desperately and who is surrounded by eminently quotable college students. To encourage acceptance of this unusual letter, perhaps a quote from the parenting manual, Different Children, Different Needs, is in order. Author Charles Boyd reminds his readers that, in a family, “Different is not wrong . . . just different” (187).
Finally, leave it to the head of the household to find the perfect words to conclude this ridiculous Christmas letter with some genuine holiday truth. This is what we’re holding on to — this year and always:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his
glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth. John 1:14
Works Cited
Admiraal, Andrew J. Message to the author. 2 Dec. 2015. Text.
Boyd, Charles F. Different Children, Different Needs. Sisters, Or.: Multnomah, 1994. Print.
Holman Kings James Version Study Bible. Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Bible, 2012. Print.
John. “John 1:14.” Holy Bible, New International Version. Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway. 3
Dec. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Lamott, Anne. “Plan B Quotes.” Goodreads. Goodreads, Inc. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
