It’s been a busy holiday season for me.    On Tuesday night, I hosted the Hanukkah Hush Hush (our version of Secret Santa) for the family.   In the past, we did this gathering at the end of January or beginning of February, but this year four members of the family are further away and are now home for the holidays.  My daughter and husband are in North Carolina and my niece and husband are living in Ithaca, NY.   We now have a new member of our tribe…Valor, my niece’s son.

I’ve spent the second half of my life in two separate NYC area homes.  Because I was no longer moving around, I’ve managed to include several good people in my life.   My friendships cover the span of 30 years to the most recent of 4 years.   

We have sat over many cups of coffee and tea, and, of course, glasses of wine, and shared desserts.    All those hours together we spoke about nothing to deep concerns or issues that plagued our well-being.  That’s what you do when you build a friendship.

Today is my birthday! I do love to celebrate birthdays – whether it’s family, friends or mine. Are there any other August 3rd birthdays out there? I wish you a special day…indulge and take good care of yourself.

Yesterday, my friend Karen took me out for our traditional ‘birthday lunch.’ We always make sure we stop long enough to celebrate our friendship and be grateful that we have each other in our lives.