Happy New Year! I hope that the coming year brings you perfect health, unparalleled happiness and awe-inspiring prosperity. Here, we’re in the midst of a radiant and spectacular family holiday celebration. Mitra arrived first and then..

“A miracle, Nazy!” I exclaimed. “For the first time ever, two of our progeny will arrive on the very same day. Melika and Darius are both coming on Friday.”

“What times?”

“That’s the amazing part. Darius arrives at 9:45 from Istanbul; Melika comes at 10:00 from..”

“She said that she was coming from London.”

“London? She’s coming from Los Angeles.”

“Via London.”

“Then it will be impossible for her to make it by 10:00 AM.... Eh, let’s check the flight details.”

A retrospective look at the arrival schedule demonstrated the advantage of a 24 hour clock. While Darius arrived at 9:45, Melika’s flight landed at 22:00. And..

“Because we need two separate trips to the airport, I will ‘de-miracle’ the event. At best, it was a bungled parlor trick.” I explained. “Furthermore, I will record the event in the Official Archives of The Martin Family as an ‘unintended coincidence.” Accordingly, a restart:

“An unintended coincidence, Nazy!” I exclaimed. “Darius and Melika will arrive on the same day: Darius on the first flight, Melika on the last.”

“That is an exaggeration, Dan.” Nazy replied.

“A mere factual discrepancy, my dear.”

As the arrival merry-go-round ended, we settled in to enjoy family time. Nazy had planned a series of special meals (e.g. Traditional Turkey on Christmas Eve, Corden Bleu Ham Curry on Christmas Day) and desserts (e.g. sugar cookies).

The festive snow that graced Mitra’s arrival melted in the rain, but the rain quickly gave way to bright sunny days. Having acclimated to Switzerland, we took full advantage by scheduling a hike to..

“... the Turm, Dan!” Nazy exclaimed.

“Turm?”

“The Tower. It’s a short..”

“...long.” I interrupted.

“.... easy...”

“ ... steep”

“.... stroll...”

“Hike.” I kept interrupting because I was thinking of my injured toe. (see here.)

“For the elderly, like you, Dan,” Nazy noted, “we will go slowly.”

The hike was planned to begin at noon. We met the expected departure time of 3:00(15:00). The Martin Family attacked the nearby hills and strolled, eh, hiked, into the forest. We arrived at the tower in good spirits, but I was quickly arrayed against a fierce coalition.

“We want to climb right to the top,” Nazy declared. “Just like the Master Builder.”

“The Master Builder fell to his death,” I replied. “And, like him, I’m not completely comfortable with heights,” I thought.

Luckily, I was outvoted and the view of the Alps from the top was great. We took advantage of the visit to take a family portrait. (If it weren’t for the fact that I was sporting my Rudolf nose, this would have been the official 2011 family photo.)

We ‘planned’ another outing on Boxing Day (December 26). Before we left, however, Mitra wanted to know..

“I have a full day of work, Dad. I need to complete five email campaigns so that Oxygen Tango will have a great kickoff in 2012. In order to pick the best time to work, I need to know the plans for today and tomorrow.”

“Hmm. So you’ll stay home and work during our ‘boring excursion’?”

“Well..”

“We thought we’d go to Gruyere today and sledding in the Alps tomorrow.”

“When are you leaving today?”

“We plan to leave around noon. It takes about an hour to get to Gruyere.”

“It’s 11:55 and Melika is still asleep,” Mitra thought. “I think I’ll work today.”

We left at 2:25 (14:25). Wondering whether we’d make it before dark, I asked Darius to program Claudia the navigation computer. She informed us of a 105 kilometer journey but: “Attention! There is stationary traffic on your route. Expect a 45 minute delay.”

Quick, Nazy suggested a closer alternative - Bern. (103 km with stationary traffic.)

“If it’s stationary,” I thought. “then it’s not traffic.” Nazy suggested Biel (101 km/traffic problems). She found a ‘must see’ Alpine location: Weissenstein. Claudia had no clue, so we turned to Darius, the family’s “Mr. Map.” He found a traffic-free path of only 35 kilometers. And..

“There is a wonderful panorama vista of the mountains along the rustic drive to the peak.” Darius noted - reading from the tourist guide book.

“If it’s so wonderful,” I thought. “why haven’t I heard about it in the 12 years I’ve lived here?”

The rustic road was closed by snow so we stopped for coffee in Moutier. Back home, I told Mitra what she had missed:

“A world record fondue, Mitra. They had a swimming pool filled with melted Gruyere cheese, robdingnagian loafs of bread were hoisted on pitchforks by giants named Goliath. The crown prince of Zamboristan was honorary host and Guinness representatives were everywhere. I won a trip to the International Tango festival in Argentina, Nazy, interviewed on Swiss TV got a contract to do a weekly shopping program, Darius met a BBC Travel executive who wants to negotiate a book deal and Melika will be able to fly back to Los Angeles on a Gulfstream VI.”

“What’s a Gulfstream, Dad?”

The highlight of our trip to Moutier:

Here in Switzerland the holiday season is marked by beautiful decorations, excited crowds and (usually) snowy landscapes. For Nazy and me, the season marks the only time in the year when the entire family is together. We look forward to the reunion. Nazy plans meals and excursions. We revel in holiday traditions:

• • Mitra’s serendipitous creative spontaneity. This approach, not understood in organized Switzerland, has led to Christmas Day scavenger hunts, a Martin Family rap music video and a stop-action movie staring sugar cookies.

• • Darius’ arrival itinerary. His flights will be booked on obscure airlines that fly indirectly to Zurich (but directly through dubious hubs). This approach allows Darius to minimize costs, while maximizing frequent flyer miles and the chance of something going wrong. He will arrive full of charm and cheer.

• • Melika’s multitasking. She’ll work the Blackberry and fashion magazines while simultaneously handling due diligence on an electronic pile of legal documentation. She has the uncanny ability to get to the crux of the matter in minimal time, a talent she hides as a (billable hour) lawyer.

1985 Houston, Texas

The school district was unimpressed with the British accent Darius had picked up in Vancouver: he had to learn to speak Texan. (“Howdy, Partner!) Oil prices had crashed - probably because I was working in the oil industry. Mitra was excited about learning the May Pole dance - a precursor to her Tango ambitions. Artistically, Nazy was painting and firing ceramics. I was outside raking leaves on Christmas Eve. Melika, four years old, came along to help. She wasn’t happy. “Why do they make us take a nap at school? And who decided to live in a city without snow?” We moved!

1990: The Hague, The Netherlands

Melika, homesick, had a single Christmas wish: a cat. Darius, convinced that his parents were deaf, amplified the wish: “If she doesn’t get a cat, she will cry, Dad”. Artistically, Nazy was painting silk and making ‘stiffy bows’. Mitra was found in the (gasp!) kitchen. Darius summed up family concerns: “If Mitra cooked it, I’m not eating it!” Was it a year of no Christmas Spirit? Find out more at:

http://www.seat26b.com/Seat26b/Theres_no_Christmas_Spirit.html

2001: Hanover, New Hampshire

Nazy and I had almost moved to Switzerland, but Bedlam Abode, The Martin Family estate in New England, was still on the market. Nazy flew into New York so that she and Mitra, who was living in a bohemian Greenwich Village apartment could drive to Hanover together. All of the Christmas presents were stolen from the rental by a professional bohemian villager. Melika, ending her Semester at Sea adventure, flew in from Miami and wondered what was good about snow. The assembled family selected a live Christmas Tree that Darius and I chopped down in a forest covered with two feet of snow. And: “Yes, dear, it did look more symmetric and straighter in the forest than it did in the house. Nevertheless, I installed it properly.”

2011, Zurich, Switzerland

Some traditions remain. Never once, for example, have the distributed members of The Martin Family managed to arrive home for the holiday on the same airplane or even on the same day. Eventually, everyone arrives and our disparate group assembles around the dinner table. It’s an unusual collection of people: an entrepreneur creating a start-up Tango School, an economics professor with global interests, a corporate attorney specializing in IPOs, an artistic and talented CFO (Chief Family Officer) and a business curmudgeon turned internet blogger. It’s more amazing that we all get along so well.

2011 has been exciting. Dan and Nazy spent more time together than they had in any year since they were married. They shunned airline travel in favor of car transport. Luckily there is a lot to see in our neighborhood. Dan’s first book (Stumbling Through the Tulips) will be published shortly. Excerpts are available on Dan’s website: www.seat26b.com. Nazy’s art, primarily water colors, can be viewed on her website www.paintingadventure.com. Oxygen Tango (www.oxygentango.com), Mitra’s school continued to grow and prosper, but her hybrid Honda Insight bit the clutchless dust. She published her first book: Separate Bedrooms, about (surprise!) Tango. Darius assumed Dan’s role as frequent flyer visiting China, Indonesia (where he ran the Bali triathlon), South Africa, India (where he almost won a chess tournament) Germany, Egypt (he did not topple the government) and Mozambique. He talked the American University of Beirut into giving him a sabbatical after only two years. He is spending it doing economic research and sightseeing at the University of Cape Town. Rumor has it that he will fly to Zurich via Namibia. Illustrating her varied outlook, Melika (birthday) partied in Cabo, competed in a Malibu mud race and communed with nature (in a luxury RV) at Burning Man.. She disposed of the Jeep Wrangler that swayed, gurgled, rattled and bounced - replacing it with a Porsche. I am not convinced that exchange will make it more likely that she’ll follow Nazy’s admonition to ‘drive slowly’.

Family photos through the years are available here