Intro

Oh me, oh my. What a busy year. Let’s get right to it, shall we?

Photo caption: This tree, viewed from our kitchen window, is affectionately known as "The Packer Tree."

MacKenzie

MacKenzie, soon to be 17, has a boyfriend. That’s all I’ll say about that. I get in trouble whenever I tease MacKenzie that all she and Reed ever do is sit on the couch, hold hands, watch movies and giggle. I hate it when a parent embarrasses a child, so I won’t mention any details, other than the fact that all they do is sit on the couch, watch movies and giggle. You’ll have to ask MacKenzie yourself about her love life.

MacKenzie is now a cheerleader. Some cheer positions opened up mid-season because former squad members used drugs or displayed bad attitudes or both. Squad teacher leaders decided to go away from the typical popular-girl-cheerleader model and looked instead for replacements among the well-behaved-brainy-nerd set. MacKenzie and her best friend, Katie, went to open tryouts, and both made it. With her strength and length, MacKenzie is one of the lifters—the sure foundation on which the triangle of humanity is built. She serves the same role in our family.

Cheerleading makes MacKenzie’s participation in the band difficult, but she manages to squeeze in both activities. She plays the flute. Despite high hopes, the marching band did not do well in the state tournament this year. Only her senior year remains, and MacKenzie and her friends are already nervous.

MacKenzie is actively looking for a college. She’s pretty sure she will study Occupational Therapy. Right now she’s leaning toward the University of Indianapolis. I’m nudging her toward IU. She’ll make the right choice. She’s currently just on the outside of the top 10 percent in her class. She’s been climbing throughout her high school career, and another good semester should realize her goal.

MacKenzie is the family photographer. While going through her pictures for this letter, I was reminded that all the girls went to California in July. They visited their Aunt Jill and her family. One of the highlights was zip lining: climbing a huge redwood tree, putting on a harness, and sliding from one tree to another.

Speaking of relatives, the girls’ Aunt Christie in Michigan (Suzann’s cousin) is currently battling breast cancer. We wish her well.

MacKenzie is also the family chauffeur, having obtained her license this summer.

Photo caption: MacKenzie has been all aglow since she met Reed.

Morgan

Morgie continues to march to her own drummer. She recently came home and said she wanted to be on the high school swim team. This was a surprise to me. Not only did I not know that Morgie was interested in competitive swimming (or any kind of swimming, for that matter), but I did not know the high school had a team.

Swim meets are fun. There’s a heightened teenage excitement, probably due to roiled water and tight-fitting suits. Morgie competes in the beginner’s heats, but she often wins or comes in second.

Morgie also marched in the band this fall and continues to play her saxophone at basketball games. I don’t detect that band plays as big a part of her life as it does for MacKenzie, but neither did Morgie have as an emotional first year in band as her older sister.

Morgie went to her first high school dance recently, a semi-formal. I don’t know a lot about it other than that there was anxiety about picking out a dress beforehand, and on the actual day, there were lots of whirling skirts, time spent in the bathroom, and strange teenagers I’m pretty sure weren’t mine.

Morgie is near the top of her class. I can’t say for certain where she ranks, because I don’t know. And I don’t think she knows. If I didn’t ask, I would never hear a word from Morgan about school. Her typical answer is, “It’s fine.” But I hear from other sources (such as teachers) that she is doing extremely well.

Morgie may not take much notice of school because she seems to have a wide range of interests. She draws incredibly detailed cartoons. She’s my best helper by far around the house. (In fact, sometimes I feel as if Morgie and I are indentured servants of MacKenzie and Avrie.) Morgie is the family leader in decorating and planning meals. She jogs and does exercises on her own. She keeps everyone laughing. (That’s what she said.) She is simply, a self contained, complex person.

Photo caption: Morgie had a big year. She got contacts and a cell phone this year. For this photo, from the semi-prom, she got a new dress and hairdo.

Avrie

I mentioned class rank in her sister’s blurbs in building up to Avrie. She currently ranks number 1 in her Angola Middle School class. I am strongly of the opinion that she benefits from her sisters’ serious approach to studying, the mistakes they’ve made, plus their help with her studies.

I’m proud of Avrie’s rank, but also concerned. With leading status comes pressure. Avrie is forever enlisting one of us to help her study. The nights before tests, she doesn’t sleep well. I never thought I’d do this as a parent, but recently I tried very hard to talk her out of studying for the spelling bee. And we’ve had a few talks about weighing the benefits of class rank versus enjoying school.

It’s kind of like the Packers: You don’t mind if they lose a game once in a while to relieve the pressure of being perfect.

But I shouldn’t exaggerate the situation. No one who knows Avrie would describe her as perfect, nor as driven, nor as an overworked child. She breezes along on her sisters’ tailwinds, talking and joking all the while.

Avrie plays trumpet in the school band. She is thrilled with every noise that comes out of her (inside joke) and often plays a new song for me while I’m cooking in the kitchen—a fact that convinces me trumpets were intended to be outdoor instruments.

All three girls are big readers. Avrie especially. She enjoys reading aloud, which I encourage her to do while I’m cooking, especially if it takes time away from the trumpet.

Avrie tried out for the middle school basketball team. I don’t think any kid got more enjoyment out of a sport than she. She practiced on her own. At scrimmages, she was the most involved, cheering every basket. She hustled. Her only flaw was that she wasn’t quite sure if she was on offense or defense, so she tended to guard her opponent on both ends of the floor. Still, in one scrimmage, she got a rebound and put in the follow-up shot.

It was a sad, traumatic day when she got cut from the team. Avrie was inconsolable until we reminded her of the Angola Sauer Family Motto: Suck with Dignity. The motto has served her sisters well in tennis and me in my career. After a good cry, Avrie was herself again and glad to have more time after school.

Photo caption: Avrie shows off some of what we found in the sand on Ocracoke Island.

Me

My friends Dave and Betsy Kurtz approached me with a tantalizing proposition early in the year: let’s flip a house. We found the perfect candidate—cheap, sturdy, in need of lots of work—at 401 N. Martha St., Angola. Hence the house got a name: Martha.

The work took longer than anticipated, and our profit wasn’t what we first projected, but still, it was a successful project. We turned Martha’s keys over to new owners early in July.

Immediately, the girls and I took off on a dream vacation: Ocracoke, Island, off the East Coast of North Carolina. Our friend, Philip Howard (who dates our neighborhood friend, Lou Ann Homan) put us up in his house. The trip was a whirl of ghost walks, history talks, music, shows every night, and swimming in the ocean.

We learned what a Tropical Depression is (a storm with enough force to destroy a tent). My most intriguing discovery was the multitude of life inside sand. After a wave receded, we’d dig our hands into the wet sand and we’d feel the wriggle of tiny crabs and other creatures. We also walked at night on the beach with a flashlight and saw crabs that would scoot away from us with thrilling speed.

I continue to do studio artwork and caricaturing. Recently I built a new art cart, which replaces the wheeled case and easel I’ve used for 20 years.

I’ve started my first novel for adults. I’ve got about 70 pages so far. And, since I have a little time this week, I began renovating the kitchen.

There’s probably a lot more, but I’m to the age where, if I don’t remember it, it must not be important. Lots of love. Have a great 2012!

Photo caption: You might think I'm aping our Halloween Jack-O-Lantern in this photo, but actually I just sat on the carving knife.

Lee, MacKenzie, Morgan and Avrie