Day 141, Year 11: Afternoon Trip to Concord (and a little surprise)
Date: Friday, March 11, 2016
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Hi Temp 50’s, Low 30’s F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Humans are naturally social animals. Relationships with one another are what make the world work for us. Just as in all aspects of life, when you are battling cancer, reaching out to others is a very important part of the healing process. So we have been making an effort to see friends that we haven’t seen for way too long. This afternoon we drove north to Concord, NH, to see a young woman who Mark hired when he was general manager of New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). Mark met Laura Knoy when she came up from Washington, DC, to help celebrate NHPR putting a repeater station on the air in the town where she graduated from high school. It became apparent that there was mutual interest in her hosting a program on NHPR. She left Washington, moved to Concord, and still hosts The Exchange, a very successful daily call-in program. We haven’t seen her for a number of years and it was great to catch up with her this afternoon. Laura always said Mark was the best boss she had ever had and certainly Laura was one of Mark’s very favorite hires. I really enjoyed watching them interact this afternoon.
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| 160311 Day 141 Cape Cod–Mark with Laura Knoy |
We then went to see Roger and Carol Brooks. Roger was the principal at the elementary school where I taught in Concord. He found out less than a month ago that he has cancer, but thankfully it is the type of lymphoma that is very treatable and curable. We have emailed back and forth over the past month, but it was great to see Roger and Carol in person and to offer them our support. We have been supported by so many people and it feels really good to be able to give back. I also enjoyed getting an update on their sons who are now in their early thirties. I had their youngest, Cameron, as a student in my first grade classroom. Today seeing photos of his wedding was so special. These kids do grow up. We wish Roger the best in his personal struggle with cancer and hope to see him often now that we are back in the northeast.
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| 160311 Day 141 Cape Cod–Visit with Roger and Carol Brooks |
And now for the “little surprise” which has nothing to do with driving to Concord this afternoon. This morning I received a text from our daughter-in-law Jo asking if March 31 through April 4 would be a good time for them to fly up from Puerto Rico to visit. My first reaction was to say that they shouldn’t spend the money to do that. Being a mother, I always worry about practicality. But I quickly dropped that line of thinking and just got so excited that they might really come. I let Jo know that those dates would be fine and later I heard from her that their flights have been booked. They offered to rent an Airbnb, but I responded that I’m sure we can figure out a place for them to stay. They might find the space a little cramped, but there is room for them to stay here with us. We’ll just get a couple of queen-sized air mattresses and have a weekend-long slumber party!
