b"Matters heart of thematter Featuring Local People, Places andAppreciating my Thingsthat Matter Since 1990PUBLISHER Outdoor Space& EDITOR IN CHIEFEllen Donker But mostly my familyASSOCIATEEDITOR BY ELLEN DONKERCheryl SilverSOCIA MEDIA MANAGER A product shot of our new back-Rachael King yard furniture. Although we don't have this lovely backdrop, maybe next year we'll get close.ADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene ConlonH. Leslie Gilman T hispastMayourinMaplewoodrathercushions and voil! Our new liv-Claire K. StruppCOPY EDITORSNick Humez family was supposeding room was set up. Liam even Tia Swanson togoonatriptothanked me because he knew I CONTRIBUTORS Yellowstoneandhadboughtthefurniturewith Sara Courtney, Adrianna Donat, theGrandTetons.him in mind as hed be spending Elaine Durbach, Donny Levit, Mydaughter,Mad- a lot of time sitting on it. Georgia Madiba eline, and I had it allSure enough he did. In the planned out day-by-day on a Google spreadsheet. Whenevenings Liam and Christian would often hang out in the GIFT GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHER werealizedwedbevacationingback yard, watching movies (once Christian got us a better Julia Maloof Verderosa than Jackson Hole we felt the need, like so many others,wi-fi signal out there) and trying to socialize properly dur-to spruce up our back yard. It was a modest upgradeaing a pandemic. sectional, chair and a few small tables. Had we known theTim often got home from work after dark and initially future, we mightve sprung for a heating tower too. wouldnt sit on the couch. Perhaps he was making a state-While we wouldnt be making memories visiting Oldmentthat I had spent unnecessarilyand the picnic table Faithful or the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, wed at leastwas sufficient for his lounging needs. Kids can be weird that have a comfortable place to sit and read a good book orway. But then his friend Aidan commented that hed be contemplate the state of the world, if we were feeling bravesitting on the couch all day if he had one in his back yard. Please address all correspondence to: enough to go there. A few minutes later, Tim was relaxing on one end of the Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. I gave Madeline and son Christian the job of measuringsectional with his feet propped up.P.O. Box 198 the space and figuring out the best way to orient the furni- Thekidswentbacktotheirrespectivecollegesin Maplewood, NJ 07040 ture so we wouldnt be staring straight into our neighborsAugust, and now that holiday time is approaching, theyre 973-763-4900 back yard. Then we went to work Googling endless imagesasking how our family will be celebrating. Cant our cousins mattersmagazine.comof sectionals for the patio and determining which sizes andcome over? What about Grandma and Uncle Bruce and info@mattersmagazine.com configurations would work. Christian just wanted to or- Aunt Janet? Wont we host our annual Christmas Eve party Matters Magazine is owned and publishedder whatever he thought looked nice, but I was emphaticfor the 24thconsecutive year? by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.about measuring properly. I did not want to have 10 boxesTim suggested that we celebrate outside. What better way Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Mattersappear at my doorstep only to find out that the furnitureto put that sectional and the fire pit to work. But I dont see Magazine is free, with editions directly mailed 7 times a year to the residents of Maplewoodwouldnt fit. Thats how I take the fun out of shopping. that being an option. This year our family of five will have and South Orangeand distributed to busi- When we finally put the order in, it seemed as if theto do for merriment and, perhaps, well have small outdoor nesses and surrounding communities total-ing 15,500. Subscriptions are available tofour-week delivery date would never arrive. But then onegatherings when it makes sense. And thats okay with me. non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign)sunny day in June (which mercifully seemed to be the normLife has a way of pushing us to adapt in ways we never annually. No part of the publication may beall spring, summer and fall) a truck pulled into our drive- envisioned, opening the door to new traditions, and mak-reprinted or otherwise reproduced without writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactway and the driver deposited the ten boxes on our grass.ing us grateful for what we have. Perhaps we can even have Advertising, Inc. He offered to set up the furniture for a price, but I declinedan attitude of expectation for joy. CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY his services. I had staff: Madeline, Christian and his friendI cant anticipate how well be celebrating next year, but U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. Liam, who happened to be in our back yardsociallyI do hope our larger family can all be together again. By READ & RECYCLE distancedat just the right moment. In no time at all,then we may even have a heating tower so we can extend they unboxed the tables, chair and sectional, zipped up thethe party outside. 10/ matters magazine / holiday 2020"