Sylvia's Journal

Axel got up early to drive me to my new office for my first appearance there, but also my last for a while. I won’t be back until February 12 which seems a long way off. Next time I come here I should be walking without crutches which I plan to leave behind in Afghanistan.

Axel was probably as curious as I was about the new location, the new commute and my new digs. Still getting up early to commute someone else to work is pretty nice. He’s been the best nurse, cook and bottle washer one could imagine over the last 7 weeks. By the time I come back I should be able to take back some of the chores when I am two-legged again.

The office is nice for extraverts and a little challenging for introverts. It’s one big office garden with light coming through enormous windows from all sides – an artist’s paradise. I felt my spirits lifted the moment I stepped in. I am on the outer band (bank?) of cubicles, looking out over the Tufts Boathouse, just a few yards away and behind it the river. It’s a better view than from our Cambridge location because I had to standup to look out of my window there. Here light and view is a common good, everyone has it. Only one office has no glass walls – it will be our meditation room every Tuesday from 12 to 1. And I suppose the lactation room is a bit more private but I wouldn’t know where it was.

There are only a few people with offices, mostly the top 10 people and a few directors who need privacy because of their work. But even those offices are transparent, with floor to ceiling glass walls only the entrance door is not – there is no hiding, no unnoticed nose picking, yawning or playing cards – we preach transparency and now we practice it as well.

I unpacked two of my three moving crates – everything is on wheels so this was easy. One crate is left. It is full of 27 years of pictures and negatives documenting my MSH journey as well as many of my fellow travelers over the years. There are a few left of those I started with; they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

I don’t know where to put these pictures. we were all given very little storage room which is a good thing in this age of electronic files. Most of my physical files are nostalgic remnants from my early years at MSH; documents that makes me realize how far we have progressed.

The limited storage space is intentional. We were supposed to have uncluttered ourselves before the move but I never got around that before the operation. It’s a chore for when I have nothing else to do – sorting through everything, to keep or not to keep. Such things are difficult. Sita gave us a book for Christmas that is written by an ‘unclutter coach’ – I had no idea that that is a coaching niche. Clever!

While I am getting used to my freed new ankle, the reality of my upcoming travel to Afghanistan has begun to set in – practical things so as how to carry things when on crutches and only allowed 50% of my (usual) weight on the left side.

The good thing is that business class travel has been approved and a ticket is being purchased. I should have no worries while on the plane – but it is the spaces and times in between that concern me a bit. I have asked for wheelchair assistance and trying to imagine if I ever saw a wheelchair at Kabul airport. And would I be parked for several hours in a wheelchair outside a gate? Would there be someone to push me to the bathroom if I need to go or leave my stuff with? And what stuff should I hand carry – not the usual heavy backpack probably. I have all these questions one never thinks about when both legs are working.

Packing for my trip is also going to be a bit of a challenge. Usually I make multiple trips up and down the stairs, carrying stuff this way and that. I have to be a lot more organized and, with this in mind, have started to make lists. It’s winter in Afghanistan, which is always a more complicated packing task and also makes for a heavier suitcase than usual.
I feel I am making some progress on the healing. Only occasionally does my ankle hurt, mostly my leg is stiff and weak. I am practicing walking, with 5 to 10% of my weight on the foot (presumably my level of comfort will tell when I am going over 10%). And each time I get up I have to decide, scooter or crutches?

We started 2014 with a whopping snowstorm which has left us 2 feet under. A front loader was needed to clean our driveway; ordinary snow plows attached to a truck no longer sufficient. It made for a cozy time inside and productive workdays thanks to the power lines holding the weight of the snow. The cove is a cauldron, waves of 4 to 6 meters and a very high tide submerged parts not usually submerged. We hope we didn’t lose more land – we won’t find out until spring, when the storms subside.