What Ever Happened to Karen Kraft?

6 April 2000

Hi!! Today I came across the RVA website. Why have I not looked until today? Never had the opportunity to surf the net, I guess and when I did.... didn't really know what I was doing!!

Well, I thought it was really great to be able to go back in time a bit and remember you all as if it were yesterday. I have to apologize first for not writing more of you (class of '97). I hope that you know you were thought about often and prayed for as you graduated (I had to miss it to come home and get ready to be married in Aug.) and left for college and even now as I remember each of you and I plan to e-mail a couple of you each week now to say "Jambo".

I flew home after Senior Safari and busily got ready for the wedding. I married a wonderful man, Bruce. He's been a gem! God sure blessed me, what more can I say. He is an X-ray Technician at a large hospital here in So.Cal. He has been there now for 18 years. (I have never been anywhere in my life for more than 5-6 years). We went to New Zealand for our honeymoon, thanks to my parents who let us have a week at a timeshare free of charge. It was wonderful! We stayed in a 2 bedroom condominium (just in case we had a fight, ha!) on Lake Taupo. It is the largest lake in the No. Island. The people were friendly and it was fun. It was winter there so we were bundled up most of the time. We rented a car and I was the deligated driver since they too drive on the left side of the road. That felt so comfortable to me after driving in Kenya.

After returning from NZ, we found out that the condo that we had rented was being sold and we had 30 days to move. Whoa! What a surprise, and a bit ackward to start our married life together. We didn't even unpack wedding gifts and all. God provided another condo, just down the hall.. in fact, that was nicer for us for the year. We leased that one (2 bedroom, 2 bath). I worked doing speech therapy with older folks in nursing homes and in hospitals. It was mostly with stroke patients. It was a nice change for the year. Then last year 98-99, I worked in an elementary school. It was crazy busy there. I had 82 students to see a week which was waaaaayyyyy too many. I loved being with kids again, but couldn't keep up the pace. I always felt like I couldn't give the kids the kind of help they needed. (oh, to be back at RVA with only 28 students to see a week). Anyhow, I spent most of that year pregnant, what an experience!!

I gave birth to a wonderful little baby boy on June 17th, 1999. Labor and delivery were 17 1/2 hours. I have added respect for my mother now. And I'd say the first few weeks were the biggest and most difficult transition for me. I've been a career person all of my life and now I was 24 hours a day tied down to this little helpless creature (whom it didn't take long to fall in love with once he started smiling at us and all). Well, I can now say that I like being home with him. He's such a blessing. I've seen him discover his hands and feet. I've seen him learn how to roll over and sit up and most recently crawl and pull up on anything he can reach. He's a cutie pie! :) I hope that the pictures come out that I've sent. He's now (April) 9 1/2 months old and seems to be changing daily. I've decided I'm gonna really get my exercise when he starts walking and running. He's got lots of energy, for sure.

This year, I've been learning how to be homemaker, housewife, mommy and ..... and trying to juggle working a couple afternoons a week. I've been at BIOLA University for the past 1 1/2 years. I am the supervisor for their Speech and Language Clinic. It's a clinic where the undergraduate students in the field of Speech Therapy get to do the therapy and I supervise their work, giving them feedback and suggestions. It's a 'NO prep time, NO work to take home' kind of job and I really like it. I pass the baby off to my hubby two afternoons a week when he gets home from work and off I go to BIOLA. It keeps me in the field and I have an opportunity to influence the lives of these students with some of my experience and skills.

Will we ever go back to RVA? My husband talks about it all the time and yes, I'd like to. It was a great experience. I feel like I would want to do a short term thing first as a family. We could fill in for a Titchie dorm parent while they are on home assignment, I guess. That'd be fun. We also bought a house here in So. Calif about a year and a half ago so we'd have a few more details to work out if we go. Pray for us if you think of it as we look at the possibilities. I guess there's no one there doing Speech and hasn't been since I left. That's kinda too bad. I left all of my materials for whoever came out... and no one ever did. :(

I want to personally say "Karibu" if you are ever in this area or if you have any reason to come to CALIF for a vacation. We've got lots a floor space and even a futon bed (queen size) in the den. Let us know by calling. You can get our phone number off the class directory.

I think of the class of '97 often and wonder what you are all up to. It was a real treat today to browse through all the info on the website. How fun. I had a smile so big on my face as I remembered you all. I'm sure Bruce wondered what I was up to today. Ahhhh. Better go, Best wishes to you all!! Write when you can.

Karen (Kraft) Schneider
at Bruceschneider@juno.com

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