Sylvia's Journal

The best alternative to being in disguise [in the skies, you dummy] over Maine is sitting at lobster Cove with a book. So that is what I did. I have lately been wandering around the house thinking about what I would like to take to Kabul. And so I discovered Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet. I found part one and part four [Justine and Clea]. A hand written and hand painted happy Mother’s Day card from Axel fell out indicating that I had started reading volume 1 a long time ago; I will finish it this time.

Despite the gorgeous weather and the paradisiacal surroundings I felt pretty punky, mostly because of the bad night. I tried several different chairs to get comfortable and ended up taking a long morning nap in the recliner. This is why I missed Diane who came by to deliver vichyssoise, just like two years ago. A cup of that delicious cold soup, after a good nap, brought me back into the world in better shape.

It was time to go to Gloucester to congratulate our cousin Britta with her graduation from high school. She too is in a transition, off to New York, at about the same time that we are off to Afghanistan. Some people think New York is just as scary. I remember some years ago when I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Amman, with a bunch of Iraqis and talking to Axel via Skype using my computer. When Axel inquired how scary it was to fly into Baghdad the Iraqis answered that it was probably not as scary as being in New York. For them New York was full of action figures gone berserk, sexual deviants and murderers. They all preferred Baghdad. We don’t think New York is scary and know that Britta will have a great time.

No one told me about the dangers of social gatherings for someone who has just had rotator cuff surgery. Because the arm is in a sling and not the shoulder people avoid the arm when giving hugs. I received many squeezes on my shoulder, encouraging little taps on the back of my shoulder and quickly began to dread meeting yet another huggable acquaintance. It’s better to go to a party of strangers where you can simply shake hands.

Next week we will go to a Magnuson family reunion — a high hug environment — and we have been wondering how we can make this a pleasant event for me. Axel has decided he will make a ‘don’t hug’ patch for my shoulder.

The social event, a barbecue, had both exhausted us and filled our bellies. We organized ourselves a dinner theater in our living room, pulling comfortable chairs up to our tiny [13 inch] TV screen, eating ice cream while watching Coraline in 3-D with the special glasses that came with the DVD.

We interrupted our show to say goodbye to Steve who should by now have arrived in Canada, for a brief visit to his mom and sister.

I removed the wedge from my bed and slept flat on my back in a nest of pillows. This too is a reminder of our sleeping arrangements two years ago. It was a good move; I only woke up once and had a very good night of sleep. In the morning I was able to take a shower and dress myself without assistance. Five more weeks to go.