Sytsema Christmas Letter: 2022

Dear Diary,

It’s me, Murphy. I have had my hands full with my favorite family and Milo who is my best friend in the whole wide world. We are inseparable and I know he feels the same. I only joined them in April, but it feels like I have been stealing their shoes my whole life. My favorites have had a really exciting year, and through it all I have been there to lick their faces.

My favorite Marty works really hard, so he got to take some fun trips with our favorite Heidi this year. They went to Jamaica, Boston, and made a few trips to Chicago to visit our favorite Grace. I miss him when he’s away, but he makes up for it by working at the Muskegon i’move three whole days a week, so me and Milo get to see him for lunch sometimes and lick his plate. We get treats when we’re good, so he must have been very good to get his fancy favorite Tesla car that he loves to wash.

My favorite Heidi was a delegate at CRC Synod this past June and did her very best to stand up for what we believe in. We are all very proud of her, and she came home in time to go to the Pride Festival with me and Milo and Anna. It was a challenging year, but therapy, buying extra time off, training for the Chicago marathon, and puppy snuggles helped get her through. She says she’s so happy that all of her kids are happy, although it’s strange to be empty nesters. Me and Milo are still very much home in the nest, so I am confused by this comment.

My favorite James is a funeral director at Sytsema Funeral Homes and enjoys living on his own. He has picked up new hobbies like fishing, golfing, and camping, and he also visited two dinosaur museums on his vacations, which made him very happy. Me and Milo love our favorite James a lot because he takes us on hikes and stops by to play with us even though he doesn’t live here anymore. Diary, I think he has attachment issues to us, but that is for another day.

My favorite Anna did a two week solo-trip, visiting old friends and making new ones as she traveled through London, Ibiza, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris. She worked at The Deck this summer and lives with one of her Deck friends in downtown GR. She loved her internship at revel marketing and graduated from Calvin last week with a degree in Communication and Sociology. Although college was filled with lots of tough feelings, she is grateful for her time there. My favorite Anna needs a big girl job, so if you know of any openings, dear diary, let me know.

My favorite Grace went off this fall to DePaul University in Chicago. We miss having her close, but we are so happy to see her thrive in big-city-living. She has almost mastered the train system, has lots of friends, and has made some money walking other dogs. I think that is a bit silly, diary, seeing that she never wants to walk me or Milo. This summer and holiday season she worked at Barry’s Greenhouse. Her love of plants knows no end, and she has successfully revived all of our neglected houseplants.

My favorite Milo is taking his role as my older brother very seriously. He pretends to hate me and rue the day that I was born, but that is just the game we play. He provides me with all of his toys and fun and ear biting, and I provide him with endless joy. We wish the same for all our friends.

With love and licks,

Murphy Bed Sytsema