Sylvia's Journal

I did a lot more thinking about the post September 2011 period, about where will we live and what we will we be doing. The one hour of massage turned out to be a good time for thinking. The existential question is both wonderfully liberating and anxiety provoking. I got some bright red nails while I was pondering my future and left the massage place with my bare feet in hotel slippers so as not to mess up the polish. I felt a little self-conscious but for Afghans bare feet in slippers in the middle of the winter is totally normal.

We stayed home, me knitting for my brother’s first grandchild who is scheduled to enter this world in a couple of weeks and Axel reviewing his students’ US school applications, perfecting the fine art of giving feedback.

I think I am finally getting Axel to consider what should have been his career all along, teaching. He is deeply into his teaching role and responsibilities and making a big difference for a few Afghan kids. I watch him blossoming into this new role, even though it is still a volunteer job. His experimenting with a new role is part of the future scenario making that we have started to engage in.