2021 has brought us many "adventures" although not exactly the kind of adventures we would have pre-planned...
We started out the new year with five Williamses working/learning from computers at home. Bryan was the first to go back to work in-person at his high school, though initially without students. In April, Graeson and Maezie were able to go back to in-person high school two days a week, with remote learning the rest of the week. Kaela continued remote learning through the end of the school year, then returned to in-person learning at PLU in September. Jill has found it more convenient to work from home, so I've now made a permanent transition (I still go to the office in Portland occasionally). 2021 also brought us a variety of weather adventures including a severe ice storm which damaged trees throughout much of the city. Later, we experienced summer temperatures that reached 117 degrees, totally unheard of in our area. We've also had multiple random medical adventures including two knee surgeries only ten days apart. And we lost Jill's grandma/GG who was age 101. But life carries on, and our adventures continue!
Kaela is entering a new decade and is now 20 years old. She is in her second year of college, attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She lives in the dorm with a roommate and they became immediate friends. She also has a campus job working at the help desk inside the library. This past summer, she lived with Aunt Laurel while attending CNA classes - she is now a Certified Nursing Assistant! And next fall, she will enter the PLU nursing program.
Graeson is 17 and in his junior year of high school. During his sophomore year, football season was delayed until spring, and he was ecstatic to have made the varsity team! Unfortunately, he twisted his knee on the field and what we thought was a minor sprain, ended up as a full ACL repair. He had knee surgery in July, followed by extensive rehab and physical therapy. He was unable to play football for the current season, but he remained part of the team by assisting at practices and filming the games from the booth. His recovery is going great, and he plans to return to football for his senior year. This school year, he was accepted into CTEC (career technical education center) in the culinary program - he attends McNary high school part-time, and CTEC high school the other half. He loves the integrated learning approach, and he plans to further his culinary skills at school and at home!
Maezie is 14 and a freshman in high school. She continues to be very involved with dance, and this year she's at the studio more than she's at home! She's in a variety of advanced level classes, and she also helps to teach two classes for younger dancers. She was happy to be able to have a recital this year, and she performed extremely well! She also is involved in high school theater, and she has been part of the ensemble chorus and dancers - and she loves it! (Mom and dad are counting down to when she can drive herself to all of these practices....)
Bryan and Jill spent the year surviving all of our "adventures" - including Bryan's knee surgery, just ten days after Graeson. His was a meniscus tear and a quicker recovery, but they both had to take turns using the ice machine for their knees. And then there was a brief period where I was the only driver in the house. We took a family vacation to the coast this summer and had a great time together. We've also been spending some quick weekends at the coast with no kids!
We are looking forward to new Adventures In Williams-Land in the upcoming year - we hope there's less unplanned adventures and more planned ones in 2022!
