Sylvia's Journal

This morning Sylvia is holding court in her command lounger stationed adjacent to the kitchen. What better spot to stay connected to the heart of this house? The pulse of the refrigerator door opening and closing with a steady flow of hungry youth Sita, Tessa, Steve, and now me (not so youthful), is one clear reminder of how much life is in the house. The other is the phone ringer, which goes off about every 5 minutes this morning. Where is the wireless handset this time?

Relief #2 – In the morning light it was clear that Sylvia is all there. She proudly displayed the improvements in skin tone under her arms and so on. It’s like turning the clock backwards on an over-ripe banana – except it’s coming back to mammalian pink, not plant green.

In the afternoon I set out for Axel’s hideout at UMass Worcester. FYI – When visiting don’t reveal ignorance of regional customs like I did – it’s pronounced “Woosta”. The two-hour drive was made more fun by a competition for attention between the new Harry Potter story in the CD player and the otherworldly voice of the electronic navigator widget/lady in the rental car dashboard. It’s like magic!

I arrived to Axel’s room to be met my Les and Leslie who were in with Axel. The room was festooned with African fabrics, photos, and a veritable tropical jungle of orchids, flowers, family photos, and lobster art. And there in the middle of it was Axel.

Once past the awkwardness of bedside greetings (which part to touch? which part hurts?) we settled in. This got easier the shock subsided… his half-shaved head, the pirate eye-patch, the assorted body armoring braces (looks like white and blue samurai battle gear), and the cleanly healing forehead scar (dueling with death again?). Since Harry Potter, forehead scars are all the rage. I’m thinking of getting one myself.

Relief #3 – Once we had the room to ourselves, I got a better chance to look into his eyes, squeeze his good hand and find my dear brother Axel. What an immense relief to see him looking back. We’ve never been much for “light frothy” chit-chat, so without delay we got down to the fraternal business of how well the family is being cared for and how the networks of globe spanning Magnuson-Vriesendorp networks have self-organized to deliver tender care, material support, and love. It is so clear that the world is moving to ensure that our treasured Axel, Sylvia, Sita and Tessa are ushered safely into this new, albeit dramatically opening, chapter of their lives. Axel gets it.

It was our collective stirrings that welcomed him back after the dark hours a few days ago when the cocktail of stress, mood meds, painkillers, and strange surroundings plunged him into hours of anxiety and hallucinated topsy-turvy realities. He said he could tell from the visitors coming that benevolent forces were embracing he and his family, even though he didn’t know what they were.