Today was one of those draining days. Draining on all fronts.

The air was warm and thick. It was not necessarily opressively hot, but you can feel the atmosphere pressing on you, making it uncomfortable and difficult to breathe.

We started early, driving to Massachusetts to take Sara to the commuter rail. She had a crazy day of her own up in Boston. Then lto the department to lecture in the morning. I needed to make some copies for the students before class, and the copier went all haywire on me. The temporary secretary (the usual ones are on vacation and maternity leave) tried to help me to no avail. I felt bad because she ended up with hands covered with copier toner - vile stuff.

I had some trouble getting through my lecture. It is definitely more challenging to lecture on things you are not familiar with. Note to self: avoid this in the future.

During lunch I had to call to switch our car and renter's insurance to the new address in Boston. The auto insurance laws in Massachusetts are increadibly complicated (and the rates are very expensive). I love my insurance company, though. They patiently went over all the new rules and requirements with me, explained the convoluted way of registering your car in that state, and made sure I had understood everything.

Then it was back to my class. Today we took a fieldtrip to a youth camp that is about 40 minutes away so the students could observe child behavior. We sat in the sun for about an hour and a half doing this. Then an even longer bus ride back (it was rush hour).

While all this was tiring, an email from my best friend from high school who lives in San Diego put it all in perspective. His nine-year-old step-daughter was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her leg about a year and a half ago. She has undergone countless treatments (read: ordeals). It seemed like she was making progress, but recently the doctors have found that the tumor has returned and it is now resistant to the chemotherapy. They are going to try some new experimental techniques, but most likely they are going to have to amputate the leg below the knee. On top of this, they also saw some spots on her lungs which they are going to have to surgically extract and biopsy. I feel so bad for this poor child, my friend, and his whole family. I am so far away, there is little I can do for him. This latest news has really hit everyone hard.

Rather than elicit help from him specifically here, if this story has touched you, I ask you to donate something to either The Jimmy Fund or the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Even a token amount will help. The first organization is working to put an end to this horrible killer and the second works to bring a little light in what is a painful routine these children face. My friend's daughter got to go to Disney World a few months back.

May a cure be found soon.