Hello and welcome to Kate’s Holiday Letter 2024! Some of you may be new to this format, though I know many of you have received my letters in the past. If you like my holiday stories, be sure to let me know and you will keep receiving them. I do enjoy my one opportunity a year to share my writing and experiences with you guys. This year, I’m excited to share something very special with you. As many of you are aware, this is the time of year when my family becomes basically unavailable because we are skiing almost every weekend. For us, ski season is the most beloved time of year. It’s a time when we clear our calendars of social obligations and devote ourselves to the worship of snow. However, perhaps you do not understand our love of this cold, expensive, intense activity - and that is the impetus behind this year’s story. I want you to catch a glimpse of what it’s like for us, and in doing so, you will understand more of what it means to be a Sydney/Cook. Our story b...
Hello, Dear Reader. It's been a long, long time, but this Irreverent Blonde Girl would like to share a story about herself and the piano. Why? Because I need to work through some stuff, ok??!! I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 or 6. I took weekly lessons (excepting summers) until I was 18. By the time I was 10, I would wake regularly at 5AM to deliver the Boston Globe to my neighbors and then come home to practice for an hour before school. I'd play the Westminster Chimes to wake everyone up at 6AM. My first lessons were with Ms. X, whose name I cannot remember. In my memory, she is very tall, with ethereal, orange-colored hair, piercing blue eyes and a calm, accented voice. She lived in what felt like an extremely cloistered house in Needham. On my birthday, she gave me a Princess Diana paper doll book. Second was Ms. Gordon. She was very calm, very patient, very steady. We spent an hour each week in a room in a church in Wellesley. She's the one who tau...