If Socrates’ maxim “an unexamined life is not worth living” rings true, I lived 2011 with a vengeance.
January Abby and I visit Haiti for a week to lay out the foundations of the Be Like Brit orphanage. We stop in Miami for R&R on our return where Abby comes down with Dengue fever. She recovers after eight days in the natural course of things, despite $75K plus of erratic American healthcare.
February I fly thousands of miles designing hospitals. I begin to question the point of the work; it used to be about helping others, now it’s more about feeding the healthcare behemoth.
March I complete the design and proposal to build a new school for Mission of Hope International in Grand Goave,Haiti. We receive a $350,000 construction grant from a German agency.
April brings spring and an escapist fantasy – could I take a long bike ride this summer to shake off my malaise?
May Abby graduates from UMass Amherst with Honors and celebration. I ride my bike ninety miles out and back to test the feel of a long ride. Four hours of heavy rain fails to dampen my enthusiasm. I spend a week in Haiti laying out the foundation for the new school. When I return I negotiate a seven week vacation from TRO JB.
June is a month of intense work and travel; I race to finish my client work.
July 19 I fly toDenver, pick up my new touring bike, and cycle the Children’s Hospital Courage Classic over the Rockies with my family. On July 26 I head east on the bike to visit family in Oklahoma.
August is a month of solitary bliss; pedaling during the day, writing my blog at night. I ride the blue highways, stay in vintage motels, eat local food, visit roadside attractions, and fall in love with the countryside and the people I meet along the way.
September 4 – 3,050 miles in seven weeks! I finish the book I wrote along my journey, Pedaling Principles, while adjusting to regular life once more.
October I complete my 600th Bikram yoga class since I began in 2009. My practice provides deep benefits of health and introspection.
November brings a coup to TRO JB! Rumors fly, heads roll, hard times compel good people act in desperate ways. I take the chaos as a sign to reassess.
December 27. I am back in Haiti. I will supervise construction of the orphanage and school for two weeks every month through 2012. I am retaining a consultant relationship at TRO JB. Andy says I’m retired; I tell him I am exploring work opportunities where money is not a factor.
I am grateful for this year of change and growth, for the wonder of our country at a very slow pace, for the grand old four family house in Cambridge that gives me financial independence and my stupendous housemate Paul who keeps things humming while I follow my heart, for Abby and Andy’s maturity and fellowship, and for TRO JB’s understanding.
I am excited about the prospects that 2012 offers. I hope that each of you find similar energy in your own passions.
Christmas with
Abby and Andy
The Awkward Pose 