Seasons GREENthings!

This message was supposed to arrive via snail mail at Christmas as our annual update. It's now May! Yikes! The letters were sealed and stamped but recreating our mailing list after a computer virus took some time. Winter got busy. Dave and Molly were busy with lots of school and squash, Lyle was busy with lots of travel basketball and a trip to Florida with me (Hope) and her uncle and cousin. I was making trips to New Jersey (Morristown-Beard School) and Connecticut (The Gunnery) doing Head of School search work.  The Xmas card was looking like more of a spring blessing as March was 'round the bend.

On March 2, life as we knew it came to a temporary standstill as we witnessed the 30 Joy Lane home go up in more smoke than flames, but a substantial amount of both. Noone was home or hurt - it happened during the daytime - it was a sunny, cold, breezy day. It was Groton School's house (we just happened to be living in it for 10 years) so they have been responsible for its rebuild. To say we lost everything is overly dramatic as that would include losing our perspective and friends as well, among other things. No denying it - we lost a lot of stuff - but perspective and friends remain in tact!

Here's what WAS saved: people, mayzie, a piano, computer, fridge, washer/dryer and by some unknown higher power, the girls baby photos which were in the attic where EVERYTHING else burned, except somehow these two boxes of baby photos (pre-digital era) survived. Does anything else really matter? Dubious. Though having some furniture someday would be nice!

The shell of the house, except for the roof, as seen by the picture, was in tact but the massive smoke damage has ultimately forced a complete house rebuild - including the shell. Also, that which didn't burn was so totally smoke damaged, we have virtually started from scratch in terms of replacement.

The likely cause was an electrical fire in the wall of the second floor. Not at an outlet and nothing was even plugged in nearby. The house was a 1960 prefab and the old wiring was well, old. Perhaps a staple worked its way thru the wire's insulation. (I still think it was an anemic mouse looking to add some iron and fiber to her diet while flossing her teeth, but I digress.)

Is there a prevention message here? Check that your homeowners/renters policies ensure adequate coverage and digitally photograph EVERYTHING. We had renters, (more for theft than fire/smoke/water damage) but it was enough to cover a fraction of our belongings. Lesson learned. We never imagined what it would cost to replace EVERYTHING. Now we know - and Dave is happy that we wont be replacing everything as he thinks we had too much anyway! He might be right!

Nothing to prevent a fire like this that we hadn't already done, but having our stuff pre-photographed would have saved a few insurance steps. Our smoke detectors were up to date and when the firefighters arrived, the detectors were screaming and had been for hours. I wasn't home that day. Groton School employees drove by and happened to notice smoke billowing from the attic vents. They called 911 and within 5 mins, 5 towns of fire depts were on site, ladders, hoses, the whole 9 yards...Mayzie grew spots - hoping to be a dalmation just for a day!

What is very exciting about the rebuild is that Groton School has taken huge intitiatives to rebuild the home completely "green". It is what's called a deep energy retrofit and will have state of the art insulation, ventilation, etc...We are watching the rebuild closely as the school moved us to a house across the street. Predictions of our return range from July-Aug. Our mailing address remains the same as the mailbox didnt go up in smoke!

As for our stuff, we managed to fill in the sink holes pretty fast. Kids were clothed by Groton, Nashoba Brooks and Maple Street friends and showered with gift cards and the like. The generosity of our friends has been absolutely stunning. Thank you, all!

I can't remember much of March, honestly. Been dealing with insurance claims and replacement items and furnishing a temporary home. April has flown by, too. But, I do remember that I made it to the semi-finals of the Womens US Squash Championships before blowing out my knee and forcing me to withdraw from a handful of squash events for the forseeable future. UGH! (knee has been slow to recover but I am choosing to delay a surgery).  I have also recently enjoyed doing a TV shoot for a local cable channel (hosted by Beth Frates, MD - Harvard roomate) about lifestyle choices and wellness medicine. In short, eliminate sugar, eat gluten free, be grateful and laugh a lot! I also had a brief stint as a cheesemaker - making homemade mozzarella!

Molly ended her squash season on a high note, finishing in 3rd place at the US Junior Silver Nationals in the Girls U15 division. Both of us had some valuable time with our famed South African coach and friend Mark Allen in NY over March vacation after we fled the fire. Time with Mark is always a highlight and productive. Molly is playing lacrosse this spring and has a month left of 8th grade at Groton! She looks forward to 3 weeks in Alaska on Overland Summers with her great friend, Lucy!

Lyle is playing soccer and lacrosse and also doing some soccer refereeing. Summer sports camps are on her horizon, plus extraction of her wisdom teeth. Lots of smoothies ahead! Being 5'6" has helped her basketball and help her to look down on her mother!


Dave is up to his ears in the exciting STEM initiative offered by Groton School and will be co-teaching the first class next year. Dave is coaching tennis and catching a few bike rides in his limited spare time.

As for the housefire, it has been a huge functional hassle but Groton School has been great to us, and we have reflected (I have at least - Dave needed no further reflection!)  that we had too much stuff anyway! We're much better off than those as far away from us as Japan or even some near us in Groton. We have much to be grateful for.

 I promise to get our 2011 Xmas card out on time - likely entitled, "We'll be home for Christmas..." In the meantime, we send our love and best wishes! - Hope

The last few weeks...

We've been home three weeks and we are just trying to get caught up. Our return trip home was a bit circuitous as we missed our plane in Jo'berg and I was robbed of my wallet in the process, by uniformed officials at the final boarding gate security checkpoint to boot! (They frisked me, didnt let me on the plane and 20 mns later I realized they had taken my wallet! Need I say I was ripped?) We ended up staying an extra day in Jo'berg and coming home thru Zurich where we spent the day sampling chocolates. Not a bad make up call! Noone was hurt and other than purchasing 4 one way plane tickets from Jo'berg to Boston, we didn't lose much more. :>)

Here are a few promised photos. In the last few weeks of our time in SA, we had some great times.

The Argus was amazing. Here is another shot. I am in the yellow jersey. This many people for 6 hrs straight.

I went up Table Mountain - the hard way - on foot with a local - my Argus trainer Chris. In the background is the Atlantic Ocean and chic chic Camps Bay. When I made it up and down alive, I took his wife, Alison, out to lunch and roses and the girls picked 50 roses.

Our squash crew consisted of Katie Wilson, (white top) my Argus sled dog. Young SA squash sensation, Alex Fuller (black top). The mens crew of (L to R) eye guy Ross Jacobs, UCT's John Nel and doubles addict and beer sampler, Kevin Ritchie. Not pictured but no less important were Ed Razano, Ian Harvey, Steve Smith, Deon Hugo, Wendy Harvey and Kim Commins, Chanel Erasmus, Mark Reed, Dan, Jess and Yvonne Tromp, Inge Rist, Zoe, Rod and Hektor Durbach, Clive du Toit, Chris Loans, and last but so not least, Mark Allen. All of these folks hail from either Western Province Cricket Club or Fish Hoek Squash Club. Thank you all!

The Velez family at a final Muizenberg boogie board outing. We hope they are seeking sunny days and clear night skies (for observing) and keeping some part of the Prockops still in Cape Town.Karin, our master healer, friend, storyteller, owner of her Health2You shop. Thank you for your support of us. I miss my treatments and your vast knowledge.

Juliet is why accidents happen. She rear ended us - but it was OK. She became a great friend, healer, confidante and supplier of wonder boxes. I KNOW we are raising similar kids and offer huge thanks for her friendship. I got a LOT of support from her. God bless and go well! When the wind blows at M'zenberg, Juliet, throw up a kite for us...and watch it go! (Somehow I can't access the great pic I have of us...bummer!)

Not a squash player but she can run faster and farther than anyone I know, I am not kidding, Lin Heidmann, pictured above with me, is the Head of Herschel Prep. She is a woman of extraordinary warmth, leadership, faith and appreciation. She is so gifted. Her daughter Emma is Molly's drip castle buddy! It was Lin, from the get-go, who helped make Herschel feel like a great school for us.

So, now a few weeks after returning, we have some results to show. Great joy that Molly finished 2nd place at the US Squash Junior Silver Nationals. I won the US Nationals Skill Levels 5.5, and less exciting but results nonetheless, I am returning to a gluten free life - and a long one at that. Celiac Disease is strongly suspected after numerous tests and the 3 best parts are that 1) I have never had any obvious/typical symptoms and 2) It is getting much easier to live gluten free as many more options exist and 3) I have a great team of professionals that I consult with on different matters relating to wellness - Deb, Abbas, Raj, Karin, Ciaran, Christine and Bruce. I came to know and trust these people thru the amazing web of people I know. I am unbelievably fortunate.

It's great to be back home and we are enormously grateful to those folks who participated in our journey.  There are no pictures, sadly, of our landlords, Gary and Biz. Gary and Biz are beyond words. We all agree that they are some of the loveliest people we will ever know and we very much hope our paths cross again.

Sabbatical isn't over so there could be more postings so stay tuned.