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It has been almost eight weeks since my dad left Earth and everything seems to be back to normal. My sister is back home and finishing her semester in school. I am back home and preparing for my SOLs. My dad calls me at least once a week. My mom even programed our phone so it reads, “Space Station” on the caller ID. I am also able to have a video conference with my dad about once a month. It’s kind of like Skype, except every call has to be connected through the nice people at NASA. We had our second video conference yesterday. Dad is doing well and staying very busy. He has a LOT of work! He lectured me on responding to his e-mails. I’m not very good at that. He has given me a tour of parts of the Space Station and I was able to meet a few of the other Astronauts and Cosmonauts on board. I do miss him and the video confrences make it a lot easier.

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In May, my dad started on a long journey. He had been preparing for this journey for many years. My sister and I traveled to Baikonur, Kazakhstan to watch our dad launch aboard a Soyuz Rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). He has lived on the ISS before, but this time he will stay for an entire year. It was a great adventure that I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

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My name is Charlotte Kaleigh Kelly. My friends call me Charli. I like to think that I am an average kid with an average life. The truth is, I am in a unique position that only a small handful of kids have ever experienced. My dad is an American Astronaut. As many kids look at this as “cool”, it’s just my life and the only life I have ever known. I don’t view it any different than Joe’s dad going to work at the local military base, or Ayden’s mom going to work at one of the local resort hotels. I am learning though, that many kids think a lot about my unique position. A lot of kids want to know what it is like to have a dad that travels to space for a living. I’m not sure I can answer all of their questions, but I can give them a small glimpse into my life.