Page 5  "Like A Second Mother"

DIANA: After a few years, we moved back to Boston, but we still spend a lot of time on the Cape. Di is managing our house on the Cape for us. She makes soups for us when we come down, and she's really good at that. And she's really good at organizing a house. She takes great pride in it, too. But I think she had to get away from domestic work for a while to understand how good she is. The house is so clean, you could do neurosurgery on the kitchen floor. I've asked Di to come up to Boston for a couple of days next week because I'm teaching at Mass General and I need her to be with Susannah. She seems happy to do that, and Susannah just loves her.

DI: Susannah doesn't want anybody else but me. And when she's here on the Cape, I come and stay at their house. During the summer months when they're living here, I'm here every day. And I take care of their home here all year long; I make sure that everything is up and running properly. When Bob was building his first solar house, they wanted me to be at the housewarming party with the family. And of course, I was there for Christopher's graduation from high school. I cried; I was so proud of him. When Susannah had Grandparents' Day at school, she chose me to come and represent her grandparents. And I'm just so proud, I really am. I'm included in just about anything that goes on in their life. When I see the children now, it's friendly and warm. We kid each other, we go out for pizza and talk. And we talk on the phone. You know, I'll call, or they'll call me: "Hi, Di. Just called to see how you're doing." It's just a little quick hello from them to let me know they're thinking of me. I share my life with all of them, too. Fourteen years ago, when I remarried, Christopher was my ring bearer, and Ki was my flower girl. We've shared so many things throughout life. We've had our ups and our downs and our tragedies and our joyous times. And I think that's what really makes the bond that brought us together and still holds us together.

DIANA: I believe that once you connect with someone, you need to make a commitment to them: if you expect them to help you out, it's very much a two-way street. So I think Di will get a salary until she says, "I do not want to work anymore. I've had it, I'm tired." And even then, we will make sure she is on the payroll so that she can qualify for health insurance. We feel that we have a lifelong relationship with her, and whatever she needs, we will take care of it. She's absolutely a part of the family.

DI: I've enjoyed working for the family for the past twenty years. And I have a feeling, God willing, that I'll be with them for the next twenty years-maybe taking care of Christopher's children. When he was young, he would say, "Di, I always want you here with me. Maybe one day you'll take care of my kids." And I said, 'Oh, Christopher, I'll be too old to take care of your kids." But he just said, "Oh no. I'll give you a rocking chair, and you can just sit and rock my babies like you did with me." Caring for children is so rewarding. When you can make a difference in somebody's life, it makes you feel so good. I'm the director of our youth choir. I'm always involved with children, somehow. We have children in our choir that are somewhat troubled, and I spend extra time with them. I talk to their parents and ask if it's OK for them to spend a day with me. I just kind of get them alone and let them open up a little bit, and tell me what's bothering them.

There's a song that I sing in my church:

If I can help somebody as I travel along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or a song,
If I can show somebody where they're going wrong,
Then my living has not been in vain.

I think of that song quite often; it expresses the way I feel.