Sylvia's Journal

Today is Axel’s birthday. I won’t be able to congratulate him until I get back later this afternoon. Unless of course I wake him up at this early hour. I could not take the day off today because it is the crowning event of the BU course: the student teams will present the efforts of their work with their virtual teams in Malawi, Cambodia and Nigeria to an audience of some very seasoned public health professionals at MSH. There is much nervousness among the students, but we think they are as prepared as they can be. After the dress rehearsal yesterday we sent each team off with a mixture of congratulations and suggestions for improvement.

Before I started writing this morning I read the entries that Joe and I made last year on this day. Even though all is not entirely right in our bodies, it does make me realize how much is right and what enormous progress we have made.

I got home late, after a haircut, and arrived when the sun had already dipped below the Putnam trees. Axel had the boats waiting for us by the water and we pushed off into choppy and frigid waters. We paddle-rowed in the direction of town to see the cliffs on Smith Point Road where another old house was removed and, no doubt, a new McMansion will be built. This means more construction, hammering and large trucks in the neighborhood for another couple of years. I am not sure what this is a sign of. The housing downturn does not seem quite as obvious here.

Axel moved quite fast next to me in his kayak, slicing through the waves like a pro. It was serious exercise for his left arm. Reading the description of his very feeble left arm a year ago leaves me feeling very grateful. Our boat outing was a good metaphor for the year we have just completed. Our two shells, Alden and kayak, withstood the choppy waters well but it took all our attention and concentration to stay upright and steer a straight course. We made a safe landing and had a quiet dinner with the puppy stretched out by our feet under the table.