Sylvia's Journal

On February 3 we held a brief remembrance ceremony in both our Boston and Arlington office for our three young colleagues who perished in a plane crash in Afghanistan 10 years ago. People no longer on our staff came to pay their respects and we told stories. I read a brief letter from M in Afghanistan who benefitted from the scholarship fund that was set up by the family members of these three women. I remember the day well, working out at the gym and suddenly seeing the faces of my colleagues and the name of my organization on the TV screen.

The rest of the day flew by as I was busy finishing the paperwork of the trip I just finished and prepped for the one that will start next week. Having gotten up at 4 AM, shoveled the car out of the snow banks and gotten to work early, I was pooped around noontime and went home.

The next day I had scheduled to renew my Dutch passport. I made the appointment month ago knowing that on February 4-6  I was going to take Axel to an Inn in the White Mountains, a Christmas present. It seemed a good idea to go to Boston in the morning, get the right passport picture that only one photographer in Boston can do, complete the paperwork and, and then head out to New Hampshire.

Between the snow banks, the T-system functioning at half power, parking problems and the victory parade of the Patriots I couldn’t have picked a worse day to get into Boston. It took us 2 hours to get from Manchester to the photo place which happened to be on the victory parade route. Axel had dropped me off as traffic wasn’t allowed through anymore. I walked through puddles of melted snow, first to the photo studio and then the consulate, my boots no longer keeping the water out. At the consulate, the creation of a new passport was even more complicated than before as the new passport technology uses precise biometric information.

By noontime we were done and headed out to our Christmas present and celebrated two days of pampering at the Inn at Thorn Hill in Jackson (NH): knitting by the fire, a lovely dinner, falling asleep in the Jacuzzi and then early to bed, to get ready for a day of playing in the snow, which is so much better than having to get things done in the snow.