[ Belated ] Happy Holidays, 2019!

Hi Folks,

As always, I do hope this note finds you happy, healthy and ahead of your own gameplan.  I hope 2020 is amazing. 😊 …

I am always curious - - what were your top 3 experiences in 2019? They could have been fun or arduous - we learn and get deeper from all of the, no? I no longer say "good" or "bad" - one quote that has sunk deep into my bones is from Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Happy Holidays, 2018!

Hi Folks,

I do hope this note finds you happy, healthy and ahead of your own gameplan. May your 2019 be amazing. (I know, this is too long of a note. Worst comes to worst, enjoy the photos, quotes and book recommendations.  )

In a Forgotten Land
Abe Pachikara, Copyright 2018 (Click for larger image)

Pop quiz to start things off… I am curious, what was one good surprise for you in “your” 2018? What did you learn that will be useful going forward? What’s something you tried that didn’t get the outcome you had in mind - - we never share these though most good experiments have unexpected outcomes, right?

Happy Holidays 2017!

Hi Folks,

I do hope this note finds you happy, healthy and ahead of your own gameplan.

Paul, 15, Sidd, 14 and me with my eyebrows again
Abraham Pachikara, Copyright 2017 (Click for larger image)

As some of you know, my dad passed away this past January 1. Hence, my Mom has been on the millennia-old journey of a spouse surviving a vibrant marriage, and now traveling without her longtime partner. When Dad was in his last months, she was resilient, focused and tough as nails. I think she is tougher now, although her gently delivered words will never betray this fact. Certainly, on many moments she is deeply wistful. Yet I watch in awe. As always, I thoroughly enjoy my time with her (a constant since I was a toddler), and one of 2017's pinnacles was when she joined Paul, Sidd and myself for a week in Rome and Florence. For this deeply passionate art lover, visits to the Uffizi and Vatican Museums only energized her while we were left exhausted. Mom's spunky 78 year old persona shone like a 19 year old art history major for that week. More broadly, in 2017 she's embraced the online world: not just such aspects as banking and utilities, but also presenting her art work via Saatchi Art such as this collection of landscapes. Her nimbleness and tenacity are deeply noticed by the boys.

Happy Holidays 2016

Hi Folks,

I have heard that ocean waves come in sets of 7. Whether true or not, I think some years of our lives are certainly bigger than others. 2016 was one of them.

3 quotes have been floating around in my head in looking at the year:

Happy Holidays 2015 ! !

2015 was a notable year in so many, many ways. Perhaps it was the same or similar for you, and our hope is this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy.

An Oldie But a Goodie: Looking Back 11 Years, © 2004, Abe Pachikara (Click for larger images)

The boys continue their journey forward into life and living. Paul is 13 1/2, (8th grade) Sidd is 12 (6th grade) - they continue to finish each other's sentences and be confidant's in each other. Soccer is still their go-to sport, and I wish I could fully describe how inspired I am by their by their reflections, whimsy and resilience.   

Happy Holidays 2014 ! !

2014 has been a year our family will never forget, and I do hope you had a very big year too.

A Bigger Year Than Meets the Eye, © 2014, Abe Pachikara (Click for larger images) 

As per the usual, Sidd, Paul, Molly and I wish you the best in this Holiday time. We pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy. If life has gone sideways, our prayers are with you.

Our family has had its share of adventures.

• The boys are in a good place.  Still the best of friends, still sinewy, still a deep source of goodness and light for Molly and myself.
• Sidd is 11 (5th grade) and certain his future has 5 pursuits. I see this as the start of a lifelong path that creates one's legacy.
• Paul is 12 1/2, (7th grade) and discovering, at times the hard way, the deep importance of clarifying your workload and staying ahead of it.  Grade 7 has been a surprise for him and it's never bad when something makes you up your game. One concern I have: for the first time, I don't really see school fundamentally inspiring him.
• Molly has formally entered back into the “traditional” job market - that is, being a stay at home parent when children are very young is a demanding pursuit unto its own: now that the boys are older, she has taken a project management role at Allstom Grid, and likes the colleagues & new challenges.
• I am in my 10th year at MSFT - and it continues to be interesting personally. At a macro level the company is materially, cohesively proving a clearer direction, gaining internal momentum, and finding its own rhythm, again.

Happy Holidays 2013!

With 2014 is just days away, Sidd, Paul, Molly & I wish you the best in the New Year.

Another Year Goes By, © 2013, Abe Pachikara (Click for larger images)

As in past years, we pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy. If things are tough our prayers are with you - and there is the saying, (if one chooses to believe in a higher power) that "we are only tested to the extent we can overcome the test; what’s needed is to discover the breadth of our own abilities."

Happy Holidays 2012 !

Another year has passed so quickly – even Paul now comments about time’s quick pace, “I can’t believe summer is already gone, dad!”

 All Dressed Up, © 2012, Abe Pachikara (Click for larger images)

Sidd, Paul, Molly and I send our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas during this holiday season.  As said in past years, we pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy. We have been blessed many times over with treasures, time and talents and the year has seen us continue to grow and change.

• Paul is 10 ½, Sidd is 9. Both are still sinewy, almost entirely muscle and bone (the consummate opposite of myself), but now taller, far stronger, and more physical in their sports and rough housing at home. Computers are an expanding presence in their lives, from gaming (like Minecraft), to game design (they took a 2 week computer game design course last summer that they loved), to reading (Nook), to homework - - Paul now uses Word and Excel for his science homework, Sidd watches Khan Academy.
• Molly completed a tour of duty as a Toastmasters “Area Governor,” - - mentoring a collection of Toastmasters clubs and earning the western Washington state “best of” award. What happens in 2013 – we shall see.
• I continue at Microsoft as the company goes thru a pivotal time with the world shifting away from PCs to mobile phones and tablets. As they say, what does not kill you will make you stronger, no?  Two pursuits that consume me are a) guiding our boys’ amazing journey and b) taking photos, and writing about a photo’s related story. I cannot say I put enough time into deepening my skills in the latter – a gap I plan to address in 2013.

Happy Holidays 2011 !

Another Christmas has blustered upon us, and Sidd, Paul, Molly and I send you a heartfelt Happy Holidays!

As said in past years, we pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy. We have been blessed many times over with treasures, time and talents and the year has seen us continue to grow and change. (Bored already? Well here’s the whimsical eCard from last year, updated with current photos - - it may take a moment to load.)

The Best Fall Colors in Years, © 2011, Abe Pachikara (Click for larger images)

Happy Holidays 2010 !

Greetings from Redmond, WA, and a heartfelt Happy Holidays from Sidd, Paul, Molly and myself. We pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy.

I am always in awe of and humbled by the hundreds of layers of blessings surrounding us. It is life’s version of Teflon coating. As example, waking up in one’s own apartment, condo or home is an obvious and wonderful one. No longer is this an assumed outcome in the US; just between July - September, 930,000 homeowners lost their homes – that is around 4 million whose lives are derailed in this Holiday Season. The fact I am say my prayers from inside a house is the 1^st blessing of each day.

A Happy Holidays 2009

Happy Holidays from Sidd, Paul, Molly and myself!

This note comes to you from the lush, coastal, southwestern state of Kerala in India, where we have the good fortune of visiting with family and friends on our first long vacation since 2005. I took this shot as we rode an auto-ricksha back to Molly’s Uncle Immanuel’s place. I LOVE autorickshas: on the one hand their itty bitty 2 cycle engines create a disastrous amount of pollution; on the other other hand, you smell, hear, taste, feel and see your excursions in relative comfort like no other vehicle I know of ; and a good driver will patiently snake thru the most remarkably congested traffic - - “seeing” openings created by the moving geometry of buses, cars, lorries, and motorcycles. More abstractly, this particular scene made me think of how we hurtle thru time and life with friends and family in some manner of capsule - - that is, nested in the trappings of our belongings, with our talents, time and more intangible treasures.

The Journey Forward into 2010, Copyright 2009, Abe Pachikara

A Happy Holidays 2008

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year to you.

We pray this note finds you safe, sound, healthy and happy. 2008 saw world events more delightful and dreadful things that one could have ever expected back on Jan. 1, eh? 10 pounds of eye-opening outcomes in one overworked, 5 pound bag. We hope the new presidency will nimbly respond and counterbalance both the current perils of the U.S. and the even longer term realities like a warming planet, U.S. declines in engineering & education, and not living up to the American dream in truly bold, inspiring ways.


Looking forward...
Abe Pachikara, Copyright 2008 (click for larger image)

A Belated 2007 Happy Holidays

With another year having blustered by, here is a few thoughts to close out the year. Of note, we are healthy and doing well. The boys are no longer little cuddly tots, (Paul age 5 ½ and Sidd age 4 yrs.) but the discoveries they make, and those of Molly and I thru them, are always something that makes us shake our heads and smile.

The boys, the baby Jesus, and his mommy and daddy...
- -Abe Pachikara, Copyright 2008 (click for larger image)

Happy 2006 Holidays from Sidd, Paul, Molly and Santhosh

Folks,

With another year having zipped past all of us, Molly, the boys, and I wish you all the best and a Happy New Year. It is always good to try to answer the question " what did you learn in the last year?", and a few (potentially obvious) things come to mind:

• A profound interaction occurs when the end points of the human journey meet. Toddlers are about as a) unfettered in their thinking, b) uncluttered in their beliefs, & c) optimistic about and focused upon the next moment as one can be. Their grandparents carry a unique "long view" of our decisions and current situation, and in many respects are a pure complement to their grandchildren. So when the two meet, it is a remarkable reaction, like two musicians with different musical talents, and hence creating a sublime harmony.
• People are the magical part of a destination. After having resided in Boston for 8 years, we left the area with a tangible degree of hesitance, even though logic and research stated that the Seattle area had many positives: pristine natural surroundings, solid local economy, good schools, etc. But what we additionally discovered is an array of local people who are down-to-earth, genuine, collaborative and very optimistic about things in general. It is hard to articulate what this does for making the move feel like a really positive one.
• Given the distance from (our) family, keeping in touch takes some real effort. We had the good luck to spend time during 2006 in both Atlanta and Murphysboro, and to have grandparents, aunts and uncles visit us (all these new titles take some time getting used to). The visits are never long enough (including one to San Francisco) but I will say the boys are building a real enjoyment in engaging with immediate and extended family. So this is something to keep in mind whenever you have a chance to move "away"
• Establishing a balance between your "home career" and your "work career" takes real attention. One hard reality is that it is more tricky than meets the eye to watch how one balances the time devoted to things at home vs. things at work. I would say 2006 saw the pendulum sway too far to the work end (lots of interesting things to undertake) and now it is time to pull it back.
• Realizing the time gap since seeing old friends is dismaying. In the past year we have met up with a few old friends whom we had not seen in years, and had stayed in touch with sporadically. The delectable part of getting together was that if felt as if the conversation was simply continuing from moments prior. A point of dismay was lingering question – why did we get out of touch for so long? It is always an example of the way time marches on, whether you have a watchful or blissful eye.

A (Belated) Happy Holidays, God Bless You!

Happy 2004 Holidays from Sidd, Paul, Molly and Santhosh

Dear family and friends,

We wanted to send a quick note along with the handwritten hellos in the card. While it may seem to carry an impersonal image, this note will include thoughts that simply would not be included in the card itself, thoughts that reflect notable points from the year.