Holiday Letter 2024

I never know how to start these letters but I’m just going to start typing and hope that the words will fall into place. 

First of all, a big thank you to those of you who keep sending us holiday cards even though we’re slackers and haven’t reciprocated the last few years. Someday we’ll start it back up and you guys will get a special gold star on yours! But in the meantime, let me tell you what we’ve been up to.

In January Dwight built me an exercise room in our basement. I love it! Kiersten, Kardynn and I took a roadtrip to Waterloo, Ontario to check out the University of Waterloo. At this point Kiersten and I had visited a lot of schools and so far none of them were exactly what Kiersten was looking for. But she had high hopes for Waterloo. And I’m glad to say that even though it was bitterly cold, we all walked away with a good impression (no doubt the cold temps were offset by the very warm welcome that we received from my cousin Jillian).

Niagara Falls at night

In February I got to visit my brother Ted and his three kiddos, along with my Dad. We had such a great time and I appreciated the chance to warm up in the Arizona sun. After spending my formative years living at the equator, I’m for sure a sunshine girl. (Which I’m sure pleases my parents who often accused me of *not* being a sunshine girl, in my youth. Ha!) That month we were proud to discover that Kiersten was selected a National Merit Finalist. (Kiersten, I will NOT be removing this sentence from my letter – sorry!) And the biggest news was that Kardynn turned 16. I’m not sure how it can be that sixteen years have passed since my baby made her grand entrance but it seems to have happened.

Heather with Kolton, Konnor & Kierra

March brought two more birthdays for Annika and Kiersten. Plus Kiersten and I visited Montreal to check out the university of McGill (spoiler alert, that’s not where she ended up).

Annika and her cat Tigger

Kiersten in Montreal

In April I got to watch Annika’s last hurrah as a collegiate volleyball player, at a volleyball tournament in Frederick. She had broken her hand the year before and it just never fully healed so for that and various other reasons, she decided to let the volleyball go. Which prompted her to change schools as well (she was already going to be taking her engineering classes at ODU so she figured she might as well benefit from their lower tuition rates).

May brought some sobering news as we learned that my father-in-law had colon cancer. He’d been very sick so it was nice to have answers and a plan. That month we had another visit to Waterloo, this time as an admitted student to the Honours Software Engineering program. Kardynn got her driver’s license. Kiersten graduated from the Academies of Loudoun. In June she graduated from Rock Ridge. Bruce’s surgery was a success so that was the absolute highlight of the year.

Kiersten

Kiersten's Rock Ridge grad

In July Oskar turned 21. Jonny defended his dissertation and became Dr. Prouty. Unfortunately, on that same day Annika was in a nasty car accident when someone ran a red light in front of her. That landed her with her ninth concussion. Not a statistic any parent wants to brag about.

She did get a little break in August when she went to Hawaii with her roommate for a week. That month started the exodus for the college kids. All three of them are at new schools this year. Oskar is studying abroad in Japan at the University of Waseda in Tokyo. And of course I already told you that Annika is at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and Kiersten is attending the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Kardynn is a junior in high school and very sorry to have been left behind – she says that she does NOT like being a “third wheel” with Mom and Dad.

Our emptying nest prompted me to downsize from our minivan to a medium size SUV. The minivan went to Ted’s family so we’re happy that it gets to serve another family.

Heather & Oskar

Kardynn started off her junior year of high school with a bang. She’s the president of her school’s Educators Rising chapter and she was inducted into the National Honor Society. She’s been working three evenings every week and she managed the high school volleyball team.

In October I spent a few days visiting Ted’s family in Arizona. As always, the company and sunshine were a delight. Work took me to New York City for a couple of days. I enjoyed the conference and ended up having a little time to wander around and explore as well so that was a treat.

In November, my mom – who was recovering from rotator cuff surgery – took a tumble and broke her pelvis. She had to spend a few weeks in a rehab center until she could literally get back on her feet. Meanwhile I road tripped with my cousin Jenna to visit our various family members in Waterloo. It’s a real treat that I get to see extended family when I visit Kiersten.

Before Mom’s injury, my family had plans to gather in Virginia for Thanksgiving. My brothers and I did a quick pivot and all drove down for quick visits with my mom in North Carolina before Thanksgiving.

December 1 was a low point for our family with the loss of our sweet cat Bandit. He had a very sweet, loving disposition and was super smart. The vet was very impressed that he knew how to open doors, for example.

Kardynn & Bandit

Later that month Dwight and I enjoyed a quick getaway to Costa Rica for a week. In case you’ve missed this underlying theme – I once again appreciated the sunshine and good company. When we got back to the US, my father-in-law met up with Dwight and Kardynn for his comeback to pickleball (after having a hip replacement in August). We rounded out the year spending a lot of time visiting with family and especially loved having Annika and Kiersten home for two weeks.

Dwight in Costa Rica

Playa Flamingo

We already have fun things to look forward to in 2025. I’ll save most of those for next year’s letter but one big highlight will be having Oskar back on the same continent as the rest of us.

These last few years have brought a lot of changes for our household - our kiddos are rapidly leaving the nest and venturing out into the world to start their own lives. It’s a big transition for me and Dwight. We miss having them around all the time but we’re so proud of each of them and are just in awe of the amazing people they’ve become. It’s such a privilege to be a part of their journeys. I have no idea what this next stage of life will look like but I’m excited to find out. It’s a little strange to suddenly have a surplus of time to focus on ourselves and our hobbies but I’m making the most of it.

Dwight (center) and his bandmates

Dwight is still loving playing music with his band mates. They’ve been doing this for more than a decade now! They don’t play for the public very often but if you do have a chance to make it to one of their gigs, I highly recommend it!

Twice a month Dwight and his sister get together with their Dad to record stories of his youth. Dwight’s been loving that routine with his family and looks forward to it every week.

The older I get, the more I appreciate how fortunate I am to have a life rich in family, friendship and community. You guys are fantastic - thank you!

If you have the patience, here's a little video with one second from every day of 2024: