Life is a series of moments that are filled, at times, intentionally, and at other times, by accident. In 1969, Joan and I went to California for graduate school education. In order to survive, Joan worked. It doesn’t seem fair now, but at the time, there seemed to be little choice. Sometimes, such a beginning can work out very well.
Joan easily was hired at Oakland’s Children Hospital where she worked in the neonatal unit. It was fascinating work. I used to go there occasionally watching her deftly insert her hands into the incubator to feed the premie and administer medications. It was so fascinating. And she seemed totally in her element.
One of the unexpected gifts was working with Susan Cogan. Apart from sharing their work career, they became friends, enabling our sharing time with her and her husband, Bruce, a law school student. For the next five years, there were many opportunities to share our experiences as students and new parents.
Even though we were geographically separated for the next 45 years, Joan and Susan kept in contact by phone. There were a couple of occasions when we were able to be together, including a few occasions when Joan went to California to be with Susan when Bruce was hospitalized.
And now, 50 years later we were able to be present to celebrate their wedding anniversary with their three children, two grandchildren, and friends. We were most fortunate for being their friends. We would not have missed this happy occasion.
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