The Latest

The director at my work told me that you can plan on needing a jacket in Boston for any month of the year with an "aw" (meaning "r") in it. Even though it's still technically an "aw" month, it is finally feeling like spring! The magnolia trees around the city are in full bloom and they are gorgeous. It's very, very nice to feel like the winter is finally over.

It's been a relaxing week for us. Derrick finished his Anatomy class and found out that he got an A! Good job Derrick! He just has a few more finals before he finishes out the year. It's hard to believe that his first year is already almost over. He's excited to start his internship assisting a dentist at a family practice in Harvard Square for a couple of months this summer. Derrick also went river rafting with some friends from school yesterday. This was his first time rafting and he had a great time. The fates smiled on the group too--it was the hottest day of the year so far at the same time--it got up to 90 yesterday and it's been in the 50's most of the week. Talk about choosing the perfect day! As can be expected, Derrick spent most of the time starting water fights and soaking the people on the other rafts. :)

As for me, I had the chance to watch the elite runners finish at the Boston Marathon on Monday. It was super close between three women at the end and the winner only won by 1 second! She collapsed at the finish line. It is very uncommon to see a sprint to the finish in a marathon setting and it was really fun to watch. It was even more inspiring to watch another racer finish who had two prosthetic legs. I was also impressed with a few people in the army who did the marathon in their full army garb (backpack, boots, camo, etc.). I was inspired, but I don't think quite enough to put my body through another marathon. :) I'd like to keep my knees intact through my 30s and keep doing the triathlons, I think.

That's the latest and greatest on the Boston front. We hope you are all well and happy!

It Was the Best of Basketball, It Was the Worst of Basketball

Derrick had a 3 on 3 basketball tournament at school this week. There were probably about 15 different teams made up of dental students competing against each other. The good news: Derrick's team won the entire tournament!! Good job Derrick!



The bad news: during one of the last games, Derrick tore his MCL. He's going in for an MRI and a follow up with an Orthopedic specialist to see the extent of the damages. So far everyone we've talked to who has also torn their MCL has said that they still aren't the same and they've had to do gobs of therapy. We are hoping that this is not the case with Derrick! To add insult to injury, Mel had parked the car at the CVS pharmacy across the street to pick up a gatorade and some snacks during a break between games. Derrick was injured soon after she walked over to the games and so we immediately walked over to the ER (which was conveniently connected to the basketball courts by a walkway--the benefits of having a tourney on the medical campus, eh?). Long story short--after Derrick was checked in at the ER, Mel went to move the car and it had been towed. The towing story is best left for another blog entry. Did we mention that it was also raining? Bring it on! I guess it's good that when there are bad days it all happens at once, right?

Here are some action shots before the injury (it may be a while before we will be sending more of these. . . )