Well, we're officially "empty nesters"! We...

September 03, 2006 by Meg in Lytton

Well, we're officially "empty nesters"!

We took Mikayla to Oberlin last Monday. There were a few surprises as we traveled Westward, including passing a card with a Confederate flag sticker saying "May it ever fly". When we opened our motel curtains the next AM, on the car window right outside was a sticker with a kneeling girl and the phrase "Do 'em Southern style". I realized I've been out of touch with America and wondered if there is why the Christian movement is gaining strength!

Oberlin was started based on the concept of being open to enrollment by all races and both genders. It was a stop on the underground railroad and is still quite liberal.The most prominently represented student group at orientation was the Socialist Party, though they seemed to have a lot of trouble trying to decide where to put their table, kept hauling it around.

Kayla's roommate is an old friend from the Maine Coast Semester who wants to do environmental policy.

Kayla seems undecided about how committed she is to environmental studies, though that's one of Oerlin's strong suits. She emailed us that she was bummed that her Theater Production lab didn't give any credit so she was in search of another class. So far, she is signed up for a history course on fascism, a physics course "Einstein and Relativity". She's considerting an Econ course. I hope she's happy with the academics--I'm sure she'll be fine socially.


Kayla's roommate is an old friend from the Maine Coast Semester who wants to do environmental policy. She is chronically infected with MERSA, which makes me a little nervous because she has already had pneumonia and a kidney infection in the last 2 yrs and is allergic to the penicillins and Zithromax. Ah well, hopefully she'll wash well and not pick scabs or her nose!!

Julie finished her intensive organic chem 1 & 2 summer courses at Bryn Mawr College and has moved into an apartment with 2 good friends on Pine Street in Phila, several blocks from where Callie and Will live on Pine Street. She sometimes visits them when she jogs. She has been working in my office for the last 2 weeks as we await the arrival of a new employee. Julie just got a very good job as a reseach coorinator for a neurologist and a cardiologist at Einstein Medical Center.

She has a wonderful new boyfriend, whom she met at Penn. He is now working for an international consulting firm in NYC, travels lots but they've been able to get together a fair amount. He's from Toledo, sends her letters addressed to "The Beautiful Miss Julie", etc., sends flowers, and sent us a thank you note for dropping her in NYC on our way to & from vacation ! I hope things stay this good!!

Will finished working in office when he got a full time job helping Phila boys from poor families prepare for college opportunities. Interestingly, though not necessarily suprisingly, the kids who stay in the program and do better are immigrant kids.

Callie is starting another course at Wharton in nonprofit business stuff. She and Will are both prepping slowly for GREs and thinking of grad school in California.

Dick is busy, has patients booked for new appointments in January, is depressingly far behind writing reports and is urging hiring someone else to help.He's still head of Peace and Service committee at Haverford Friends Meeting and on the Board of the school there.

Miracle of miracles, I have a new associate! When fewer docs are going into primary care and even fewer are staying in PA, I was fortunate to find a wonderful young woman who joined me 3 weeks ago and is going gangbusters!! Keep your fingers crossed! I only managed 1 week off these last 2 years and I would love to have more!

As per my usual routine, it's 11:30, I'm tired and I'm sure you're bored and have more important things to do!!