2014: a year in the life of the Sheas…

One of the nice things about writing these Christmas letters is that it forces us to think back and remember what happened THIS year – sometimes we find that our memories telescope back and forth.  Did that happen this year or last year?  But it seems so long ago…  And that was just the other day.

Also, sometimes it feels like our review should take place in August – when the school year ends.  However, probably that feeling will fade as the girls “age out” over the next few years.

The first half of the year was dominated by school endings.  Kathryn finished all her written exams before Easter, then passed her oral exams to graduate from Gymnasium – for those not familiar with the German system, she is now free to study whatever she likes at any German university.  The only restriction is her grade point average (some programs are highly competitive).  For a change of pace from sitting in a classroom, she applied to AFS and was accepted for volunteer work in Denmark.  She was placed in a Kindergarten and a host family, both of which she has found very compatible.  Kathryn has been chronicling her experiences in a blog: The Traveling Otter.  We’ve missed her a lot, but we’ve also learned to appreciate all the more what we mean to each other!  She’ll be back January 17^th, and there is one puppy who will spontaneously combust with joy when she returns…

Ursula fought the good fight with uncongenial subjects and graduated from Realschule, which ends after 10^th grade.  In Germany, it qualifies you for higher-level apprenticeships, job training, or further schooling.  Together we found two schools offering a combination which sounded just right for her:  job training/schooling in graphic design, with additional classes to get an Abitur in her specific field (the arts).  Both schools required entrance exams (she had to submit a portfolio and due as-instructed, on-the-spot work), and was offered a spot at both schools!  She chose the Akademie für Kommunikation in Mannheim, and is now enjoying such courses as advanced drawing, typography, and media design.  It’s nice to be at the top of the class for a change, and we are all very happy with her progress and the “rightness” of her situation.

Andrea worried and sweated over the last hurdle for her certification as an Erzieherin – the thesis and defense thereof.  Passed with flying colors and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  She loves being able to give her undivided attention to work now, instead of always having to balance the needs of work and school.  The end of the year had one more surprise in store:  her colleague for her group of kids became pregnant and had to cease work immediately due to medical concerns.  After some anxiety, everything has worked out well – new partner, more responsibility, and future mom and baby doing just fine.

Mike has been typing away at his gaming blog, Parhoon Naval Yards, having reached 100,000 page views this year. He continues to paint, plot, and play his way through a variety of gaming systems and events to generate content for his blog. At work, he switched to a new product, SAP Enterprise Threat Detection, which has been producing new challenges for him to overcome. He has also been active in Cultures@SAP and the North American Expats organizing a lunch with the CEO, a visit to the best ribs in Heidelberg, and a Thanksgiving play.

We received a number of visitors this year. Mike’s dad and Kathie came to visit this summer to help celebrate the girls finishing school. Erika and Martin also came by for a visit.

Our travels included one big family trip to England.  The overwhelming choice of desirable destinations was narrowed down when Andrea insisted on visiting the Uffington white horse.  We spent one week in Malmesbury (charming cottage, charming town), visiting not just the horse, but Oxford, Bath, Salisbury and a number of locations seen in Harry Potter and other movies/series.  A highlight of the trip was the inner circle tour - practically at the crack of dawn - at Stonehenge.  Though not allowed to touch the stones, we were close enough that we could have.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to England, but it is a very, very long drive…

Mike and Andrea managed another trip to Switzerland for Alpenfestung and spent a weekend away in Limburg for their anniversary.  Ursula is still very actively cosplaying, investing a lot of time and effort in making her own costumes.  She and her friend Ronya having pressed for permission to go to a big convention in Kassel, we ended up turning it into a weekend trip, during which Mike and Andrea visited with Martin, Annette and Katarina in Bad Pyrmont.  We also revisited Herkules in Kassel and reminisced about our first trip there – 1989, while exchange students in Göttingen.

We suffered one great loss just after Easter.  Binky’s health had been steadily declining, and when we came back from England it became clear to us that the time had come to say goodbye.  It’s never an easy decision, but we made it as peaceful as possible for her, with the vet coming to our house.  Tenten had to put up with a lot of extra hugs during the weeks afterwards.

Not wanting to end on that sad note, we are looking forward to spring, which will hopefully bring our number of dogs back up to two.  It will be quite exciting to see how Tenten reacts to a puppy in the house (Mike is already rolling his eyes and shaking his head.  Perhaps he’ll need a rest in, say, Essen this year.)

We love hearing from all of you!

Hope this finds you well and have a

Happy New Year!