Gibbs Gazette 2009

*** spoiler alert ***

if you have not received, and would like to receive a paper copy of the gazette, puh-leeese let me know. i would hate to disappoint anyone with the electronic version if said person had their heart set on pulling the card from the envelope. that being said, i do have two young children, so my heart is not set on making sure that everyone gets exactly what they want... i.e. - said hard copy via snail mail. i assure you no ill-will is meant by the oversight.

*** on to the scheduled year end review, Floyd-style ***



Dearest Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Gibbs Family!

What a year! The economy worsened; Tebow cried – again – and a lot; we lost Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett & Billy Mays in, like, 36 hrs; and Oprah announced she will leave millions of desperate women in a lurch as early as 2011… This one really kept us on our toes.

It was a pretty eventful year not only for our country but also for our little family. It began in an excited headlong pitch: We stepped into the ring with our gloves on, so to speak.

Winter 2009: I tore the kitchen to pieces on a whim and, assisted by my brother-in-law, rebuilt it in a few days, before flying to LA to record. Danielle was working in the office with her chin set and the pragmatic, slightly annoyed work ethic of a no- nonsense expectant mother. Red Marshall reached forward in time and, with a clean jerk, wrested the “terrible twos” out of its appropriate place in childhood to claim them for his own as a 16-month-old.

Spring 2009: We dug our heels in and awaited the birth of our daughter. We showed no fear, no hesitation. But it wasn’t enough…we felt we hadn’t truly been challenged. My wife shook her fist at 2009. “We will renovate the basement! Right...NOW!”

Summer 2009: At the height of the upstate summer, when 7 am feels like the Seventh Circle of Hell and you can’t bring yourself to imagine 2pm, my wife, now great with child; our son, now showcasing the energy of a radioactive hummingbird; and I, dangerously short on dream fuel after the reality of “touring” had kicked me in the chin, moved into my in-laws’ house while the construction crew tore our basement asunder.

We barely had time to unpack when, from the West, I heard the thundering of hooves, and a herd of the wild and unbroken Colorado Clan descended upon the in-laws’ house. Within a week there were nine humans under the same roof, many of them under five…. There was no peace. None. I sought clemency in Canada as a hastily booked tour took me away.

In late July our daughter, June Evelien Gibbs, was born. She was gorgeous and dangerous. She screamed for three months without ceasing. We parted ways with sanity and decency. We saw neither sun nor moon. There was only screaming. Then one day in October, as a ship breaks from a perilous gale into sunlight, she was silent. We reunited with sleep & humanity.

Fall 2009: We moved back to our home to find it dramatically changed. I still drop trash on the floor in a kitchen corner, where I am sure our garbage was once stationed. We transitioned into a steady and peaceful lull. Red Marshall began cultivating an escalating obsession with lawn equipment and tools, and a now serene and observant Junebug watches us all with her impossibly beautiful eyes…they remind me of someone.

blessings to you.

Floyd, for all of us.