Christmas 2017

Has it really been a year? Or: It has really been a year!

In January Ainsley, a bunch of her friends and I participated in the Women’s March in Washington. It was the first “adult” activity of that sort I have shared with her. It felt good, although the reason for being there was not born of joy. ‘Nuff said. No more politics.

I came back from DC to reprise Driving Miss Daisy, this time at another theatre. Then on to Sister Act at another theatre. This one was hard. Had to dance, not my strong suit. My right hip has been complaining ever since. Then on to an original play, Wrinkles, the Musical, about women and aging, which will be reprised this coming June. From there, right into Sunday in the Park with George, a musical about the artist Georges Seurat, and most recently, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, a series of monologs about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s. Getting ready for 2018 – very excited to peform in Jesus Christ Superstar in March. I have loved that music for decades!  So, yes, I’m living my passion. I know how fortunate that makes me.

In this photo from Sunday in the Park, I am just to the left of center sitting under the blue umbrella.

Jim is still very involved with the Red Cross. Besides seminars in Durham and Detroit, he was in Dallas working on the Harvey technical systems, and was pre-staged to Baton Rouge for hurricane Nate – which thankfully, was not a biggie there. He was pretty tired when Maria hit and elected to stay home for that and for the fires in California. What a year for the Red Cross!

Jim has continued with his ukulele lessons, and recently has encouraged me to play also. I am trying, and have to admit that it is much easier than my guitar, what with my arthritic fingers. He brought home a baritone uke which has fingering like the guitar, so it’s more familiar to me. We have even played together a couple times!

Ainsley started graduate school at the University of Cambridge across the pond in September, and MBA program with a focus on Social Innovation. It is a 1-year program, after which I think her plan is to return to DC and the World Bank. We will visit her for Christmas – my first time in England (and except for a short trip with my mother to Marbella, Spain, my first to Europe).  How nice to visit her in a country where we speak the language!  I am hoping that Jim and I can return in April and make it up to Scotland, and seek out some of Jim’s relatives’ birthplaces.

We were pleased to share a little time this year with my sister Freddi and her family. In January, we saw the Elton-Ormeno family, and in August, Freddi, Alan, and their children and grandchildren visited the Cape. I was delighted to take the girls to an outdoor play near where they were staying.

Benji the cat died a couple months ago – 18 was a good long life. But I still see him out of the corner of my eye sometimes. And I forget that it’s ok to leave the basement or garage door open – he’s not going to scamper out to where he is not allowed. Jim keeps kidding that I will get another cat, but I just don’t think it’s fair to get a pet when it will most likely outlive us.

So there’s 2017. We’re all well, happy and blessed.