Pearce Family Christmas Letter - 2025
Nathan & Julie Pearce
Hello everyone,
welcome to our first digital Christmas Letter,
This is probably something we should have done a long time ago... We're finally getting around to it, so we all hope this works okay for you!
The year has been one of change and very busy times. (this line is a quote from a prior year's letter, but it feels very fitting). We're going to do things upside down this year, youngest first.
LIFE UPDATES
Duma had a massive year of change and growth. They continue to work at the 2nd largest "Paramedic Level" private ambulance company in Hampden County, National Ambulance. They also entered and successfully completed the EMT Academy program, while working full time hours and attending class 3 days a week. They then went on to successfully complete both the state and national EMT accreditation tests, meaning they can now work as an EMT on shift, as well as as a dispatcher. This flexibility earned them a well deserved pay raise. They continue to thoroughly enjoy their work caring for their local community and the comradery of working with other front line workers! They are also making the shift toward moving out into their own place with their longtime partner, Sean.
Two location moves and one move to full-time remote employment sums up Eden's year of exciting changes. After obtaining her Bachelor's degree, Eden landed a great technology job with a Rochester based company. Having established herself as a good employee, Eden was able to make the leap to full-time remote work, supporting her desire to move to the Boston area. She is thankful for her employer's flexibility making it possible to move to Brighton, MA with friends and her partner, Henrietta, while staying with the same company. This exciting change was the end result of a year-long effort which included a short stint living at Julie & Nathan's family home, as part of the plan to move eastward from their old home in Rochester, New York. The proximity to such a large city is going to give them access to functional public transport, as well as the opportunity to hunt for new work with lots of high tech & financial businesses nearby. Exploring the city has become part of many weekends!
Ben continues to work at Big Y in the produce department. The shift to this department allows him to work during regular operational hours, which is excellent as we have been seeing him more often! During his spare time he spends quality time with friends, family and his two fur babies, Parker and the newest addition, Pixel. Pixel, weighing in at 15 pounds, is not shy and will gladly enjoy eating all of the cat food in the house. Ben has been navigating the “fun” process of divvying up spaces in his home to allow Parker areas of safe eating. Both kitties are a constant source of enjoyment for him and keep him entertained.
Nathan's employment continues to be interesting. This year has included a few days away at training events as well as adapting to changing governmental Cybersecurity requirements for manufacturers of parts that are used in high level programs. At one training event, Nathan met a 3rd cousin, which was an interesting happenstance! Due to changes by the private equity firm that bought Kaman Corporation, Nathan is now part of a larger business (~5,000 employees up from ~2,400). While his role remains approximately the same, Nathan is now employed directly by one of the subsidiary companies, Kamatics Corporation, while also providing support to multiple other companies in the portfolio. This role has also supported Nathan in returning to school in pursuit of his degree. Nathan has enrolled and has already completed his first semester of college in America. The enrollment process also included Nathan self-advocating to ensure he received credit for all previous college courses as well as his many existing technical certifications. He's already over a year into his degree after only 6 months. While US Colleges typically deem "a full course workload as 4 classes,” Nathan took on 5 new classes while working full time hoping this accelerated timeline will speed up a change in recognition and future possibilities. Achieving a 4.0 for the semester landed him a well earned spot on the Dean's list.
Julie has been amazing, working steadfastly with the older adult community in nearby South Hadley, Massachusetts. We are incredibly proud of all her efforts to support community care while funding continues to be cut from important programs that help struggling people manage their day to day needs. Her role as the Director of the Council on Aging has grown and changed as staffing has changed, but Julie continues to provide the best for her employees and Senior Center visitors alike. She is often told that people drive from other local towns to South Hadley to attend classes and events, because they are the “best around.” This has the odd side effect of higher demand for the center and its space! Julie also attended conferences and training throughout the year completing Continuing Education Units (CEU's) to keep up with her licensing requirements in TWO STATES. She was again a part of the Western Massachusetts Elder Care Conference as a part of the steering committee, helping it remain a cornerstone event for professionals throughout New England. Julie celebrated her 50th this year surrounded by family and friends, and then once more at Hell's Kitchen New England the next day!
Julie & Nathan often regularly visit and interact with her mother, Elaine, who is one town away, and still up to much in her own life.
During 2025, we sadly had to say goodbye to our kids Great Grandmother, Rita Carrier, who passed away, but it was lovely to have the company of our extended family at the funeral in her memory.
BIG AND FUN EVENTS AND ADVENTURES
We always try to remember to have fun to balance out our incredibly busy lives filled with so many responsibilities. Here are a few of our more notable adventures:
After our last letter was written, Ben, Julie & Nathan attended a fantastic performance by comedian Taylor Tomlinson in Hartford, Connecticut.
Julie & Nathan's adopted Robotics Team, Buzz Robotics, again won their first event of the year at the Greater Boston event, and for the first time since some major changes within the team, they won a ROBOT based award at the Hartford District event, the "Quality Award". These outstanding efforts from the team resulted in a trip to New England District Championships in April, marking an unbroken run of years that their combined involvement in any Robotics team has caused said team to be in the top 1/3rd of local teams. Buzz took home the "Team Spirit" award from that event.
Later in April, Nathan & Julie got away on a long overdue ocean cruise (Julie’s birthday gift) to Bermuda, sailing out of New York. They were able to enjoy some snorkeling, great food and explored the islands braving the traffic on a pair of motor scooters.
In June, Julie and Nathan also excitedly got to explore New Orleans. Since it was far cheaper to fly to Mobile, Alabama and drive into NOLA, we rented a convertible Mustang and enjoyed the drive! It was great to experience the Cajun dishes and the Cafe Dumond beignets and the Jazz & party atmosphere of Bourbon St. We also got to explore the amazing National WWII Museum, a stark reminder of what the wrong leaders can do to the world and what it took to bring peace back.
In October, just a week after Eden moved back out, we suffered a minor basement flood event, causing some major upheaval in our lives. Not the fun kind of new challenges, but it resulted in a learning experience for both of us. Thankfully, we are fine and no belongings of importance were damaged. We will be happy when all the repairs are completed and we can start using the basement again in 2026.
Thank you to all those who reached out after our update last year to give their feedback and send well wishes to Julie. She generally is doing fine, but does continue to deteriorate so we thought the shift was important to do at this time. We were happy to think of an alternative (letters through a QR code) so we can continue to connect with you all.
We hope you and yours were also able to strike a balance of hard work and great joy throughout your year. Always remember that the love of family and friends is more important than the noise of chaos we are all hearing on a daily basis. We are sending our love to all our friends and family and hope that you not only finish 2025 undefeated by the world, but burst through into an exciting 2026!
PS, Our favorite Easter Egg of 2025: (Zoom in to read it!)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Love ~ Nathan, Julie, Benjamin, Eden & Duma
