December 22,
2016
My friends and family,
It
is hard to believe that 2016 is coming to a close. As I look back on this year
I can’t believe everything that has happened in my life. I have lived on three
continents, worked for four schools, made countless new friends, and logged a
lot of air miles (I guess I should have signed up for frequent flyer miles).
In
January I found myself getting back on a plane to return to Guyana and the
Guyana Lutheran Music Academy for year two teaching percussion and brass. I was
very happy to return to GLMA, see my former students, and welcome new students
to the GLMA family. I had the
opportunity to work with both first and second year students and help get ready
for year three to begin. It has been a wonderful experience for me to see this
program grow and develop over the last three years.
I
returned to Iowa in June where I went back to work with Mosaic. I was in the
same home with the clients and staff that I worked with before I left for
Guyana. They make my job so fun. My co-workers from Mosaic are like another
family to me. Mosaic is a great organization that I have been blessed to work
with over the past three years. I really enjoy being able to FaceTime with the
home from overseas to check in and still be a part of their lives. They helped
me through quite a bit while I was substitute teaching and waiting for my
paperwork for Kuwait to get sorted out.
Since
September I have been living and working in Kuwait. I started teaching 5th
and 6th grade general music at the American Academy for Girls. This
is definitely an adjustment from GLMA. It has been an experience to say the
least. I work with a wonderful staff who have helped me adjust to living and
working in Kuwait. Another reason why Kuwait is fun is because one of my
closest friends lives here. In fact, I have the job she has had for the past
two years. I haven’t seen her a whole lot, but I have seen her a handful of
times since I got here.
While
in Kuwait I have also taken another first step in my life. I have adopted a
cat. I got here when she was nine months old. She is a handful, but I love her.
She has helped me through some tough times over the past couple months. I am
looking forward to getting to know her better and watching her grow up. My
Christmas tree has only come down once from Nala which I feel like is an
accomplishment at this point.
The
real treat of the year is that I am sending you this from Iowa! I have made a
surprise trip home for the holidays to visit family. Hopefully I can survive
this cold. J Wishing you
and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Yours,
Kelli J. Lair
 |
| My percussion 1 class on our last day of classes back in June. This was a really fun class to teach! I miss that group! (Don't get me wrong, I miss all of my classes.) |
 |
| At the 2016 20th Anniversary SSDB with Sheltered Reality in Minneapolis, MN! |
 |
| #mamaduck (a.k.a. my boss/friend Holly), myself, and Jeri went to watch Skye perform in Mason City this summer. I love how much 105 supports each other! |
 |
| Nala and I hanging out. She very much likes to cuddle on the arm of the couch when I am watching something. |
 |
| Teacher team volleyball. This was the Thursday we had parent-teacher conferences so it was teacher vs. teacher volleyball, but we had a great time anyways! |
