To close, we must acknowledge that our worst fears this time last year about our country's leadership were realized. For months we have hoped that this is all a bad dream or perhaps an extended Saturday Night Live skit. But no. We must console ourselves with gratitude for the vigor and vitality of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Robert Mueller. Here's looking to November!
Eva just finished her third semester at City College and continues to love the Clinical Psych PhD program there. But this past semester was a doozie: taking five classes, teaching one class to 32 undergrads, and starting to see patients under the watchful eye of faculty and supervisors. So she ended this semester exhausted but happy. Purportedly, this is the hardest semester of the program, so we hope to see friends more often in 2018!
Carl's work started out slowly at the start of the year but became much more interesting as time went by. He celebrated a very big birthday (huge! tremendous!) in October. While sixty may be the new fifty, it sure is tempting to start looking forward to retirement in a few years. But, for now, no rest for the weary!
Dear Friends and Family,
One of the lovely things about the days right after Christmas is that there is plenty of time for happy, lazy pursuits like writing an annual letter. So, to maximize flexibility in the years ahead, our 28th annual Christmas Letter is hereby renamed the Holiday Letter.
Carl and Eva started the year with a trip to London in February. We visited friends we only get to see every couple years, played tourist (the Globe! the Eye! exorbitant afternoon tea at the Ritz! the Victoria & Albert!) and enjoyed being hosted by our dear friend Alex. In the summer we took our first multi-night sailing trip on Kestrel, which was lovely and romantic, with wine and sunsets and dinners on board. We awoke one night to rain leaking in over our bed, alas, so we add that to the growing list of things to fix on the boat! In August, we and our friends Nick and Chris returned to Acadia National Park for hiking and lobster. On our way there, we spent a couple days getting to know Camden, ME with sailing friends who moved there in May. (Jim and Sophie, we hope you are staying warm!)
We hope the holidays are bringing you happiness with friends and family. We wish you a peaceful and healthy 2018!
Carl, Eva, Caroline, Charlie
and Brio and Lego
and Jinx
Happy Holidays!
Charlie graduated from Bard College in June. It's a lovely feeling to have a child reach this milestone. In anticipation of applying to Psych PhD programs in the next few years, Charlie is volunteering as a researcher at Columbia University. For money, he is working at a rock climbing club. He continues to power lift and has become remarkably knowledgeable about metabolism and strength building. He is living at home to save money and occasionally makes delicious dinners for us.
Caroline is taking a break from academics after five semesters at Northeastern University in Boston. Having tried biology and architecture, she is thinking through what she wants from a career and what to study. Her love of animals is as strong as ever, and it wouldn't be surprising if this somehow shapes her professional goals. Time will tell. In the meantime, to give everyone some more privacy and leg room, we bought a studio apartment a few blocks from our house that Caroline and her cat Jinx have moved into. It's wonderful to have her close again. She is waitressing at a great Italian restaurant in Sleepy Hollow and may take some courses for fun next year.