Friday, January 28, 2011

THAI AND FRIENDSHIP

Lunch with a really good friend today. I love that she never sugar-coats her thoughts and tells me when she thinks something is my fault, or not a good idea. She always reminds me to pray and to go out on dates and to have fun! She calls when she hasn't heard from me in some time. She's not sweet, and is marginally grumpy. She is always encouraging. She's a great mom and a great wife. We shared problems (no housekeeper for me, no nanny for her), laughed at past escapades (like chasing a husband's ex-girlfriend down!) and brainstormed about our fledgling business, proceeds of which were used to pay for today's lunch of green curry, phad thai, calamari and mango sticky rice. Great way to begin the weekend!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

WHAT A YEAR

Amongst family and friends, the year 2010 was an unprecedented one of separation, enmity, illness, financial difficulty, betrayal, loss, death.
I began this post some weeks ago wondering how to give thanks, for what can I give thanks?
After some reflection, it came to me quite easily:
I give thanks with hope for brighter days, with faith that there is a grand plan for us all, and with prayer to bring all that into fruition.
And I give thanks that the year's episodes of bitterness and grief were liberally sprinkled with bright pinpoints of goodness: friendship, forgiveness, unity, healing, reconciliation, and love.
Always, always gratitude for the love we find within ourselves and others, without which our decisions are ill-conceived, our lives unfulfilled.
Here I am, on the cusp of the new year, thankful for a new beginning, for second chances.
And so I welcome 2011 with some trepidation but with open arms. May you bring all the blessings we dream of.