Natalie at Williston for freshman year

Jordan and I moved Natalie in to boarding school on Tuesday. (Jordan’s parents were kind enough to stay back with the boys and the dog so we could focus on Natalie — the boys will visit her in October for family weekend.) We were also lucky to have a group of MA friends have a bit of a “welcome party” for her, so that she has more adults nearby that she can rely on too. Williston has a crazy amount of support too, so she is in great hands.

Move-in went very well–no tears or hesitation on either side. (Natalie did not like Jordan’s suggestions of how to organize her clothes/room, but he did much better with assembly-based projects. :)) She also has a friend from her Longmeadow soccer team who goes to the school, so that helped a lot. Natalie had her first day of classes yesterday. She is taking geometry, physics, spanish 2, freshman english, and religious studies (that last one is just for the first term and is required — def. not her choice). She said that she loves Williston and that the people are really nice. Her roommate is from China!

Here are some group dorm pics.

Right after dropping Natalie off, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony for a middle school in Holyoke–a project I’ve been working on since 2018. That helped focus my mind on something else! It was great to have Jordan there supporting and celebrating with us!