Freak 90-mph gusts, overnight temps in the 30’s, roads an obstacle course around fallen tree limbs and downed power lines – I think I’ll return to Boston where the weather was beautiful over the Thanksgiving weekend.
First, here’s reassurance to all of you who kindly have asked, that my place fared fine through Wednesday night’s historically bad wind storm. It did get a little unnerving about 3:30 a.m. and that’s when our cat Figaro decided to huddle close by on my bed. One of the smartest things I did last year was take down that old liquid ambar tree, which turned out to have had diseased roots. It certainly would have come crashing down, as did this beautiful oak tree on the school on my block. We lost big trees on the USC campus, too, and chain saws buzzed outside my office window all day yesterday.
Another one of the “smartest things” I did last year was to listen to the advice that I get myself to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s WM clinic. I had a check-up while I was in Boston on Monday, and what a difference a year makes. They were thrilled with my progress and said I was making them look good. On the hope that the IgM continues to fall, I continue to tolerate the treatments well, and otherwise stay healthy, I can expect a much longer time before I might need some other drug protocol. And who knows? By then, they might have actually figured out a vaccine or cure.
The DFCI visit was a positive punctuation point following a wonderful time with Akemi on Cape Cod for the holiday and a line-up of birthday celebrations with her friends. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her in action on Sunday in her ward (and being in the rebuilt Longfellow Park chapel), as well as being the “house elf” in her apartment while she juggled school work, practicing, rehearsals and performances, and church. It was music to this mom’s ears to have her and her housemates come home and say, “It smells so good in here!” as they peeked into the pot of homemade soup simmering and into the oven with dessert baking.
The trip was a great respite from the routine realities, especially as they came crashing in by e-mail and weather systems upon my return. So with that nice break, I need to carry on through the next couple of weeks with Rituxan treatment 5, closing out this semester at work and getting the start of spring semester in place, and whipping the choir Christmas program into shape. Yikes! No retreating to Boston now!
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