June 2023 · Norway
Fjords, rainbows, and a “yes”
In June 2023, we sailed through Norway’s fjords,
Celebrating Aaron’s parents and fifty years aboard.
Near midnight in Honningsvåg, beneath a double rainbow at sea,
Aaron proposed on the ship’s bow, and Drew agreed.
December 2023 · New career
A different professional chapter
That December, Drew began a new career with Horace Mann,
Leaving retail behind and building a new professional plan.
Now licensed in Minnesota and Wisconsin as well,
He helps educators with insurance and is finding his stride in sales.
After several years of learning the business from the ground up,
He now has real options for how he wants that career to develop.
April 2024 · Home life expands
Enter Sasha
In April ’24, Sasha arrived from a shelter one day,
A former street cat who seemed remarkably mellow, they’d say.
She was about a year old and calm as could be,
Though home life soon revealed a broader personality.
She steals treats, scales shelves, and patrols every room,
While Henry regards her as someone who simply moved in too soon.
They are not best friends, but they’ve worked out the deal:
Share the house, share the toys, and compete for Aaron’s appeal.
October 2024 · Barcelona to the Atlantic
Architecture, then a little too much motion
That October brought Barcelona before we headed to sea,
And Sagrada Família was even stranger and grander than we thought it would be.
A lifetime-sized vision still rising in stone,
One person’s improbable dream made enormous and known.
Then Explorer of the Seas carried us west,
Though the Atlantic decided our nerves deserved a test.
A sudden squall tipped the ship more than fifteen degrees,
Sending glasses and bottles from bar shelves with ease.
The casino learned that even machines built squat, wide, and low
Can still slide or topple when the whole ship starts to go.
One passenger was hurt badly enough that we turned back around,
And three extra days appeared while the Canaries became emergency ground.
The ship eventually steadied and the crossing went on,
But for a few very long minutes, the vacation feeling was gone.
December 29, 2024
We made it legal.
As 2024 ended, the political ground felt less sure,
And waiting another year suddenly didn’t feel prudent anymore.
So on December twenty-ninth, we made the marriage legal and clear,
Then kept planning the larger celebration for the following year.
It was not the wedding we had spent months designing just right,
It was making certain the paperwork was settled while the path was still bright.
May + September 2025 · Pacific to Alaska
Old memories, new sights, strategic cruise points
In May 2025, Aaron returned to Japan after twenty-five years away,
Traveling with his parents while Drew stayed home that day.
Then Aaron crossed the Pacific on Ovation of the Seas,
A trip involving old memories, new sights, and strategic loyalty-point expertise.
Sailing without Drew meant double cruise points came due,
Which pushed both of us to Diamond status before the voyage was through.
The reward is four free drinks apiece whenever we sail,
Which may be the first marital milestone ever measured by cocktail scale.
September took us north on Quantum to Alaska’s rainy shore,
With Seattle first and then Juneau and plenty more.
We rode the Goldbelt Tram up Mount Roberts through mist,
Walked the trails, saw the views, and checked “Alaska” off the list.
Drew saw Mount Rainier, Seattle gave us plenty to explore,
And the northern lights declined to participate once more.
November 11, 2025 · Minneapolis
The celebration we had planned
Then November eleventh brought the celebration we had planned,
At the Lumber Exchange in Minneapolis, with family and friends close at hand.
About fifty people joined us as daylight faded away,
With rainbow light, candles, purple and teal on display.
Madonna in ’24, Lady Gaga in ’25,
Drew’s pop-diva influence keeps Aaron’s musical education alive.
January 2026 · Star of the Seas
A ship that contains multitudes
January 2026 put us aboard Star of the Seas,
Royal Caribbean’s newest and biggest, with an absurd amount to see.
Central Park quickly became our favorite place to roam,
While the AquaDome made another corner of the giant ship feel like its own world.
2026 · New horizons
After games
After more than twenty years, Aaron retired from making games,
Then started exploring financial planning and entirely different aims.
Three externships, CFP coursework, the SIE, and tax prep too;
For now, “semi-retired” still feels like the description most true.
Work can still be meaningful without defining the whole ride,
Which has been its own adjustment after decades on the other side.
Meanwhile, on Sora…
Things got beautifully weird.
Then there was Sora, where whole evenings disappeared,
As one strange little video led to something even weirder.
Horror movies became puppet musicals; handwashing became a song,
With Aaron rapping while dogs and cats sang along.
A cackling old woman collected eyeballs and stole anything she could steer,
While Ranger Daddy taught forest safety to woodland creatures near.
Green cake creatures giggled through increasingly alarming games,
And before long all of them had histories, habits, and names.
At home
The quieter parts count too
At home, Christmas means Krampus and Peanuts on TV,
Candles in the windows and Mario’s star atop our little tree.
Passover gathers friends and family together every year,
And most weekends are quieter than the travel calendar makes them appear.
Fall 2026 · Honeymoon ahead
West across the blue
This fall, our honeymoon takes us west across the blue,
Through Hawaii and French Polynesia, with Australia waiting too.
[After the trip: replace these lines with one or two things actually worth reporting.]
If you scanned the code and made it this far, you now understand
Why none of this was going to fit beside a photo in your hand.
So from Aaron, Drew, Henry, and Sasha, our update is through:
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,
and Happy Holli-Gays to you!
Until next year.
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