|
12/25/01 Family and Friends, In years past Jim has written our holiday greeting card, last year Julie wrote, and this year it's my turn. We've all been busy here at Fairway Road and, in 750 words or less, here's what we've been up to over the last several months. Julie turned 11 last spring. She's in grade 6 at Heath School in Brookline, and has the same teachers I had when I was there nine years ago. Her grades are much better than mine were; this year she earned all A's. Julie spends most of her free time playing town team soccer, though she also dabbles in ballet and figure skating. Lily turns 13 in a few weeks. She's acing 7th grade at Driscoll School in Brookline. She plays flute and soccer, and rides equestrian. Three days each week Lily takes ballet lessons in Harvard Square at a dance hall down the street from my dorm. When Lily dances on pointe (tip-toes) she is almost as tall as I am… Lily and Julie take Hebrew lessons every week in preparation for their Bat Mitzvahs next fall. I kind of hoped it would never happen, but my little sisters are growing up. They spent last July at overnight camp for the first time ever. Mom and Jim finally experienced that "empty nest" syndrome they were supposed to feel when I first moved to college. I saw some really odd parental behavior last summer, and I can only imagine what bizarre things they'll do when Jake and I both leave home for school next fall. This December Jake busied himself with college applications. He's 17 and a senior at Brookline High. Last summer he studied at the Berklee College of Music. When he's not tearing up the lacrosse field, he puts his musical talents to use in jazz gigs, the high school orchestra and jazz bands, and his ska group "Mass Hysteria." Now that I'm out of the house, Jake is primarily in charge of butting heads with Mom (though he has started passing the torch to Lily in extension of this hallowed family tradition). Mom stays in peak physical condition so she can keep pace with we four juvenile delinquents. Every day she visits the gym or goes running with our dogs, Penny and Cider. She still works for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, trying to shine the light of education into the future with cutting-edge technology. While my siblings seem to change every day, mom is more like a still photograph of herself &endash; always poised, always smiling, but always, always unchanged. Jim coached Lily's soccer team to a first place finish last spring. He continues practicing law and tried several cases this year. He told me that he gained a little weight and lost a little hair since our last holiday note, but as far as I can see, he belongs in that still photograph next to Mom because he hasn't really changed at all. Neither have I. I'm a junior at Harvard, premed, and majoring in biology. I spent this summer working in the operating rooms at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Although I got a lot of clinical exposure in the trenches of the medical battlefield, the best experience of all was looking over my grandfather's shoulder during surgery. Standing behind him in the OR, I realized for the first time what a long shadow he casts and what big shoes I'll some day have to fill. During the academic year I live at school with eight roommates who are all very patient when I bring in my foul hockey equipment, my sweaty karate gear, my ripe gym socks, or my lab jackets soiled up to the elbows from experiments gone awry. This spring I'll start researching for my honors thesis and also apply to medical school. Most importantly, we're all happy and healthy here at Fairway Road. This year peace on earth may be too much to ask, but I hope you find peace, health, and happiness in your little corner of the world.
|