We have been enjoying having Katrina at home for the last month, from Nov. 26. She returns to school in a few days on January 3rd. December has been a great time to reconnect as a family. We have gone shopping (grocery shopping mostly!), baking, cooking, reading together, watching movies, swimming, taking a weekend trip to Dar, celebrating the advent of Christmas, and just talking.
Katrina hadn't been home since March 1 off this year, when we left for the US for home assignment. When we returned to the field, she went straight to RVA, her boarding school. She had a great first term, and her favorite part was helping with costumes for the school play. This term, January-March, she will be a goalie for the JV Girls' field hockey team. That will keep her busy, along with her studies! We have loved having her home, but know that she is where she needs to be at RVA for high school.
She usually calls us once a week, on the weekend, but we usually text back and forth every few days. I write her a letter every week to keep her informed of what is happening at home. We are able to follow her grades online, can see her sports and class schedule and even what they are serving in the cafeteria.
RVA is a year-round school, which means they have three "terms" that are three months long, with a one month break in between. So, she was home for all of December. She will be off for the month of April for Easter and off for the month of August for "summer". She will have a new roommate when she gets back to school. She shares a room with one girl, and her dorm has a dorm mom that lives in an apartment attached to the dorm. Her dorm mom, Aunt Candace, has been great.
Now, as she prepares to leave again, it is bittersweet. I will cry when she goes, but I am happy for her. She is making friends, involved in sports and doing well in school. So, good-bye again, Katrina for now.
