Matthew is coming off a successful year at Landmark College. Some students enter Landmark with the goal of pursuing a two year associates' degree, but Matthew's intent was to have a gap year, a cushion betwen high school and college. This turned out to be a productive move. He gained confidence living on his own, excelled academically, and became involved in campus life, (Student Government, jazz band, choir, etc.) Over winter break, Matthew filed applications with a short list of colleges and, after serious consideration made the decision to enroll at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, this fall. He plans to study either psychology or education.Newly turned nineteen, Matthew has his first paying job this summer, working as a day camp counselor at the DC Jewish Community Center. He is also taking voice lessons, accumulating road hours toward his driver's license, and volunteering his time with the American Cancer Society, helping to launch a program which pairs high school students with teens who have just completed cancer treatment.
Like many of our friends whose children just went off to college, this was the year we adapted to being one family member down at home. Daniel did not always welcome the undivided scrutiny! He allocated his time among school, soccer, fencing, and "height development," which is another way of saying that he now looks down (literally and sometimes figuratively) on every member of the family except his dad, on whom he is gaining daily. Danny starts high school in the fall but at the moment is mainly concentrating on his upcoming trip to Nicaragua, where he will spend two weeks in the home of family friends hopefully practicing his Spanish.The big news in our family is that Ali was married a couple of weeks ago to Mr. Chafic Maalouf, whom she has known for six years. The garden wedding was held in Assonet, Massachusetts, near the couple's home in Norwood, and attended mainly by family. Ali did a great job of planning the wedding down to the last detail. The boys were delighted to be included in the wedding party, and Jon beamed as proud father of the bride.
This summer has been graced not only by a wedding but also by the arrival of a new family member: little Liana Jade Doppmann, born to Jon's sister Ilene and her husband Greg. I flew to Tucson for a week, just after the birth, to help with the baby, cooking and chores. It felt like a sacred gift to be in the presence of this precious, long-awaited baby and her delighted parents.Jon continues to work hard in the down economy, while I am spending more time on childhood cancer concerns. This year I am co-chairing the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation fall 5K, which has been renamed the CBTF Superheroes 5K Walk/Run/Kids' Run. The new name is partly a nod to the positive impact of Team Superman over the past few years, but is mainly a confirmation of what some of us know firsthand: fighting a brain tumor requires superhuman courage and resolve, and everyone in the fight is a hero.
We hope to see many of you at this year's event on Sunday, October 3. The 5K is moving to a convenient, new location: Meadowbrook Park/Candy Cane City, in Chevy Chase, MD. If you are on my mailing list, you should have already received an email with all the details, but just in case, here's the link to register online: http://tinyurl.com/superherowalkrun . Sign up as a team member and choose "Superman" from the team drop-down menu.
Email or call if you have any questions!
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Take care,Jaime
