The good kind of New Year's party

Jacob hosted a New Year's party this evening. Okay, it was his mom's idea, but she served six young children formally at the dining table--with my best china that I had given her. Confession: I did not mean her to serve six-to-eight year olds, and at least one mom was heard to say, "You're not serving my two-year-old on good china." But Jordan did it up proud, with carrot and celery stick appetizer in tiny glass cylinders on small plates; mac and cheese, hot dog bites in crescent rolls, and meatballs, plus chocolate pudding in flutes with the rims studded with multicolor shot. Jacob was very proud and told me he was the boss of the party. But he nearly pigged out on the chocolate/banana bread I was trying to slice beforehand--it did not slice well, and he picked up a huge piece and said, "This is a crumb. I'm so hungry!"
Normally I don't go to New Year's Eve parties--it's home in pjs for me. But tonight I really enjoyed myself. While the children ate, the adults gathered in small groups in the kitchen and noshed on a bunch of things from cheese and fruit to veggies and hummus, drunken meatballs, spanikopita, all kinds of good things.
I stayed just long enough--about an hour and a half. Had some wine, nibbled, talked with various of these young people all of whom I've known for years. They are so kind and welcoming, and I'm flattered to be included in their gatherings. When it was time for me to head home, I got warm hugs from them, and I came away thinking, "Now I want to visit longer with this one and that." I had a good chat with Christian's sister who is in graduate school and has moved her husband and two girls into student housing--she says, "We live in the dorm." But I am so proud of her. One of Jordan's friends married a history teacher--high school--this past year, and I so enjoy talking to him but we get distracted. A group of us had an intense conversation about first-grade homework--wow!
I was barely in the door at home when the phone rang--Jordan checking to be sure I got safely home. I took back roads and figured it was too early for drunks to be out. Many of the people at Jordan's will spend the night there rather than brave the roads.
So now Sophie and I are settled in for the night. I wish for each of you a healthy and happy 2013. I don't know that there's anything more important than that. For our fragile planet, I have so many wishes--peace, an end to global warming, an increased guardianship of what the earth gives us, an end to senseless gun massacres, an end to bigotry and hatred. That's a tall order but maybe in 2013 we can take more baby steps toward that. I do believe we grow a little better each year, not worse, and I can only look forward with positive hope.
A P.S. I can't resist: Jacob said the other day, "I kind of wish we weren't having the party. I'd like some of that melty cheese Juju made last year." I'd forgotten that he spent New Year's Eve with me last year, and I fixed cheese fondue! I've promised to make it for our Twelfth Night Supper when we, following family tradition, each throw a twig of greens into the fireplace and make a wish. Do you know how hard it is to find someone with a live green tree these days?

Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul

I am so proud of my Houston daughter-in-law Lisa, who has just returned from a mission trip to a remote mountain village in Haiti. That's her above, loving on a baby. The trip began with what she called a hiccup--I so would have called a 24-hour delay in Miami a huge burp. But the team finally reached the village of Marmelade (really, that's the name) and began their work--saw 540 patients, from infants to elderly, in three days and left so many more in need of medical help.

Lisa, a teacher, also was part of the education aspect of the trip, meeting with teachers, talking with them about styles of learning, teaching techniques, offering them ideas for activities, some of which involved a deck of cards. Each teacher who attended left with a backpack full of supplies, including a deck of cards. This is market day in Marmelade.

Lisa reports the people were warm, welcoming and friendly, but taking cup baths in water from a pump and doing without a/c was a bit much. The food, however, was delicious--prepared for them by one woman. Need to get details on that! They were, she said, sad to leave Marmelade--and apprently will go back--but grateful to get to a resort with a/c and a swim in the ocean.
In my church Sunday, the minister preached on despair, desperation, and hope. It occurred to me that, beyond medicine and educational tools, the huge gift Lisa and her team brought to these people was hope. As I said I'm proud of her.
That sermon stuck in my mind. The minister stressed that we must all reach out to give hope to those who need it, and I thought about the people I know. One or two people came to mind that I might reach out to but in the most part I am surrounded by people who are always hopeful, always looking to a bright future. Whether that's a subconscious choice or not, I don't know, but I do realize we cannot surround ourselves with people who drag us down. There's a fine line there, and I'm not sure where to draw it.

I think Lisa knows about that fine line. She gave the people of Marmelade hope; they in turn, rather than dragging her down, enriched her life. And that makes me proud of her.