schempers take peru in 24!

Here we are, January 5. Tomorrow we all go back to our regularly-scheduled lives (except of course for Kate, who has two more weeks of break from Calvin and is heading to Florida for a few days with high school friends just because––why not?!) and I’ve been debating skipping this letter as it seems I have so successfully put it off until now. My one hesitation is that we just took a great trip to Peru, so I’d hate for that to pass by unnoticed.

Kate Jayne (sophomore) spent her Fall semester with a Calvin cohort in the mountain town of Arequipa, Peru! She lived with her host mom, Yovanna, and attended a Catholic university and saw the entire country (including Machu Picchu, Cusco, Coca Canyon, Nazca lines, Paracas, Iquitos jungle and rainforest, Lima, Lake Titicaca) and learned how to navigate the busy diesel-car-and-bus-filled streets and public transportation that seemingly have no need for traffic signs (there was a lot of honking which I came to realize meant “I’m going for it”). By the time we visited for the week of Thanksgiving, she showed us “Americans” around like she grew up there. Just from her instructions to us, and the amount of concern for when we were traveling without her, I think she thinks we’re stupid, but with the language barrier, there’s no way to know for sure. Except for the one day when Elia went to classes with Kate, Greg and I had Elia with us for translation, in addition to his 6 weeks of Spanish DuoLingo and my database of Spanish words and hand gestures. Kate arrived in Peru with what turned out to be bronchitis and returned with what appears to be a bad case of the travel bug. Besides a life of travel, Kate’s resolved to attend as many concerts as possible this year––currently on the docket are Jordy Searcy and the Jonas Brothers reunion tour. Upon returning home, Kate was baffled to find out we’d purchased an elliptical off Facebook Marketplace just because Elia had “asked for it” once (and changed her mind)! Apparently she’s been out of the vibe of the house for too long.

Elia May is entering her final semester of high school––praise the Lord! (With no offense to people who loved high school.) Last summer she went with a church group to Saint Thomas for a week, where they had some record-breaking humidity but still had such a great experience that she continues to compare every other travel experience with this one. (“This reminds me of my trip to St. Thomas…”) Shortly after her return home, she attended Interlochen for an intensive three-week acting camp that focused on improv and comedy. Incidentally, although Interlochen is in northern Michigan, Elia was the only student from Michigan in her class, and she was grateful for the chance to make friends from around the world. She left the camp exhausted but feeling encouraged by her improv instructor. This Fall, in HC's production of Singin' in the Rain, Elia played Lina Lamont, a silent movie star who has a hard time transitioning into “talkies” because of her grating voice. Elia nailed it, and her younger cousins who saw it told their friends, “She’s my cousin but she doesn’t always sound like that!” After a visit to a cosmetology school in Grand Rapids, as well as an “at-least-consider-it” visit to Calvin University, we went on a whim to Palette, a new cosmetology school in Douglas (20 mins from our house). It is run by a husband-wife team––he learned hair cuts and styles under top people in NY and has worked with many celebs in LA, and she learned color under some top colorists in Chicago. We had a private tour and once Greg, Elia, and I got into our car to leave, Elia’s first words were, “Oh shoot.” She had been so set on living in Grand Rapids, but sadly they had us at, “I was Cindy Crawford’s hair stylist.” Elia will begin this 11-month program on June 3, two weeks after graduation, and will be living at home for another year for sure. Since she mentioned not liking the couch we had downstairs, we bought another one. And a bigger TV. And she’s subsequently turned the downstairs living room into her master bedroom. I know how this sounds, but this new chaise couch fits all 4 of us comfortably and is my new favorite purchase! (That, and my new 10 oz. colored bowls.) Elia’s impersonations of me still make me laugh so hard I have to ask her to pull out a chair for me to sit on so I don’t pee my pants.

Greg Kenneth is busy as ever with teaching Communications, Film I & II, and AP Language & Composition, with deacon meetings at church, repair work on our fleet of cars (we have 4 now––we buy old and in bulk), and his personal daily maintenance work of elliptical work-out and Hebrew (and Spanish) DuoLingo. The thing that kills him is the hours of sitting at our dining room table or at his desk in front of his computer or with a stack of papers every night. It is my incessant prayer this year that he will find more balance in life and room for creativity––and that it doesn’t cost me too much money. Remember when I used to write down silly things the kids said? I recently found I’d started a list for Greg, here are some:

“Did you know that we ingest so many microplastics that it's like eating a plastic bag each week?" (Said on a random Tuesday morning.)
“Why did you park so close to my back bumper?!” (Said as he backed into my parked car in the driveway.)
“Sarah, we need to talk about what we’re going to do with all these lemons!” (Said as I was on my way out the door.)
“I guess the studies are true!” (After I mentioned I hadn’t slept well the night before…I assume he’s referring to me watching Seinfeld in bed and how TV light is bad for sleep, though I refused to acknowledge this particular comment.)

In other news, Greg is still more of a morning person than I am.

Stella Rae (the dog) remains the biggest unexpected blessing of my life. This chug is a legitimate gift every day, and we are thankful for her, even when she steps on us to get places in the middle of the night.

Molly Anne (the cat) is a lesson in commitment, and I have a certain unstated fondness towards her.

I will be a fully licensed counselor this summer! I’m still working for both Midtown Counseling and with my supervisor Jeff at Konfara Counseling, and am seeing kids in the schools, and adults and couples in the office. I’m currently taking a Gottman couples counseling class online, and am praying for direction as far as where and what to focus on in the future. No regrets on this life-switch, but it keeps me learning and humble and excited and constantly listening to psychology podcasts and testing things out on my family with varying degrees of success.

My short-term goals include making kombucha and almond-milk yogurt, finishing this on-line class, and deciding if I want to be an active member of the (Insta)Gram.

When I’m not watching Seinfeld or a documentary about gut health or the sad story of Avicii, I love to listen to podcasts––the latest of which is “Wiser than Me” by Julia Louis Dreyfus. If you can get past the grammatical error in the show title (I’ve been married to an English teacher for 22 years), and her potty mouth, you could be as entertained as I am! In a recent episode I heard Carol Burnett explain her view on the ups and downs of life, how knowing they are inevitably sewn into the fabric of our existence brings her peace and perspective. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. When we stop to write a year-end review for everyone we know, we seem to want to leave out the painful or brutal moments in our relationships, health or dreams, and gussy it up with the social media Peruvian experiences. (What, you haven’t been?!) We’ve had our fair share of lows in 2024, some sharper and uglier than others, but I think what I’m coming to believe is that, yes, in most cases what goes down does come back up, and I have been held by God (and by Greg and my friends) so tightly in the lows this year, that I am not afraid of what is to come. Striving to be of use in holding those I love, and praying you are held through your ups and downs in 2025.

Blessings, our friends, Sarah, Greg, Kate, Elia, Stella and Molly

Sarah’s 2024 song playlist

Follow Kate on Instagram: katejayne28

Follow Elia on Instagram: emays.22

Follow Elia’s Pinterest of Aesthetic pictures: Lee’s Aesthetics