Merry Christmas, Katrina, Ben, Justin, and Daniel!

This past year has certainly been a whirlwind of chaos, excitement, and anxiety. From the moment we said goodbye overseas last year to reconnecting in upstate for Christmas to hanging out in New Jersey, your family’s journey has been nonstop. Michael and I are super happy that Ben has a stable professorship career, with a pathway toward tenure.

And more importantly, Daniel, Justin, and a third child on the way, have a stable home as Justin begins the tumultuous years of school. We look forward to all the family pictures and child developments in the coming years!

Your family meeting my own, or at least part of it, at Sea Isle, NJ was an incredibly great experience. Lots of laughs, surprises, and good times. I always smile when I look at the group photo on our hallway shelf.

But I went through my own struggles this year. I learned from my dark, scary but uplifting experiences recently that I had a chemical imbalance in my brain related to serotonin, causing uncontrollable, at times, anxiety and depression from the time I was a teenager until this year. I hid it well, or at least as well I could, to appear normal.

I am super glad that Michael allowed me to walk into our local hospital and learn all the things that were opaque to me in order to slowly repair the damage. I feel more confident and at peace than ever before. Including finally feeling confident and fully connected with Michael to marry him.

Michael is incredibly amazing; all of you Biele children are. And I am truly blessed and happy that I will officially be a part of the family.

One of the fantastic benefits of this new lease on life with medication, meditation, and therapy is a strong mental aptitude, especially with math and communication. I finished Mistborn, from Brandon Sanderson, one of Michael’s favorite authors; and I am halfway into the second book in the series, Wells of Ascension. My renewed interest and love of reading has opened my mind to brain teasers and, eventually, the confidence to tackle the NYT Sunday Crossword. Michael is, of course, thrilled at this transformation, and I can’t wait to test my skills next time we meet.

Wish you lots of love and happiness into the new year. No matter what happens, we will continue to communicate the best I can, even from far away.

Love, Sean 💕