Christmas 2015
Dear Friends,
This past year has been a year of transition for the Boyd
clan. Perhaps the most significant transition occurred in July when Cynthia
retired after 21 years at Family and Community Service of Delaware County where
she had been a social worker serving people with AIDS. Over her time there she
witnessed a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS go from being a certain death sentence in the
early 1990’s to a chronic condition that people could survive with proper
medication and personal care. Since July she has been able to go to the gym
regularly, reconnect with friends and enjoy hobbies like knitting and sewing
she had set aside for a time.
Drick also has been going through a significant transition
as Eastern University where he has worked for the last 18 years. Eastern went
through a significant downsizing and reorganization. While he maintained his
role as a professor and chair of the Urban Studies department, the increased
demands created by the loss of staff has been very stressful. However, on a
positive note, he saw the publication of his book White Allies in the Struggle for Racial Justice (Orbis, 2015). The
book, which chronicles the lives of 17 Whites who worked for racial justice
through U.S. history, has been positively received and opened up some new
opportunities.
Hannah and Bill have grown into their life as homeowners in
Lansdale, PA having made several improvements to their house. Hannah continues
to work as a special education teacher, while Bill continues in the film
industry. His biggest project was working on the movie “Creed” starring Michael
B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, which was filmed entirely in the Philadelphia
area.
Esther and her partner Tom relocated this summer from
Washington, D.C to Chicago where Esther now works for Interfaith Youth Core,
and organizations that works for cooperation among people of different faith
traditions. Esther loves her job developing curriculum to be used in college
classrooms. Esther and Tom also added Beau, a Great Dane puppy to their household.
Still looking for permanent work Tom has kept busy as an Uber driver.
After over a year working with children in the woods with Trackers, Phoebe now works as a barrista in Portland, OR. We had the
opportunity to visit Phoebe in her new hometown this summer, also spending time
at a family reunion in Bend, OR with Deb, Perrin and their horses, as well as a
week on the Oregon Coast with Wint and family.
Oregon is a beautiful part of the world, and we can see why Phoebe loves
it, though we wish she was not all the way across the country.
While there is much in our world that is frightening and
frustrating, we are thankful that our family is doing well amidst all these
transitions, and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Blessed 2016!
Love,
Drick and Cynthia (& Sadie)
No comments:
Post a Comment