Celebration Season Begins!

When I was a kid, my family used my mid-December birthday as the dividing line between "regular" time and "holiday" time. When is the last day to get those Christmas cards in the mail? My birthday. When was the last day to order stuff from catalogs to ensure a Christmas delivery? My birthday. When did the Christmas tree go up & the house get decorated? After the birthdays. Yes, birthdays - my younger brother Tim was born on my sixth birthday, so 12/11 became a double celebration as well as being the start of the holiday season.

Now that I'm deep into my second full year of retirement, I'm really starting to feel the lack of that easy camaraderie that comes from having a highly social job like teaching. It was so easy to let work friends be my social hub - we had so many experiences in common, our schedules were the same, and we worked together so closely that it was easy to feel part of a deeply connected family. When that easy social network went away in retirement, I realized how much I counted on seeing all those folks, colleagues and students, every day. I realized how much being around all those people charged my batteries. But without that ready-made community to jump into 40 hours a week, I had to be more proactive about being social and that's not something that comes easily for me.

So this year, I've been working on making those phone calls, sending those emails, and arranging those get-togethers. And while it was a little scary at first, it's getting easier and easier. Which brings me to this week's big social event - a little soup and bread party after class on my birthday! I've thought of having folks linger over some food and drink after class for a while now, and a little b'day celebration with our Thursday night regulars seemed to be just the thing. I'll be making a big pot of vegetarian minestrone and grabbing some great bread from a local bakery for us all to enjoy around the fire. If you want to join in , bring your own bowl and whatever beverage you think you'll want and let celebration season begin.

Love to all,

g