Bittersweet Milestone

Our backyard the weekend before Thanksgiving!

This was a milestone Thanksgiving for us this year. It is the first time that both of our kids could not be with us for the holiday dinner.

Celia and her beau, Pat, were with us. They came early and helped with the last minute preparations. Celia had made dessert, a Key lime pie! It was delicious. She has been doing lots of baking and experimenting with new recipes so we are often the recipients of specials goodies. Dinner was delicious with lots and lots of food and the company was delightful.

Our son, Joseph, could not be in Minneapolis this year. He is on break from school in Connecticut, but he has a tight travel schedule mixed with lots of preparation this past week for an audition in Kansas City next week. Fitting in dinner here just couldn't happen. It was strange for us, very bittersweet, and we missed him terribly.

It is tough to let them go with a smile and encouragement, when a little piece of you wants to hold them close. Patrick and I always try to focus on what wonderful young adults our kids have grown to be and how proud they make us every day. We knew they were amazing from day one!

Maxi finished off the day much like Patrick and I did. Nothing wrong with that . . . . . . .

Cranestorm

My friend Anna Karena works in fundraising for the Brain Injury Center of Minnesota. She has initiated an awareness campaign requesting 100,000 origami paper cranes which she intends to hang in their lobby. This very large number has a direct relationship to the number of people in Minnesota who are dealing with brain injuries. There is a Japanese legend that says receiving paper cranes will grant your wish or bring you good luck.

This request from Anna coincided with a large stack of music copies left by our son, Joseph, to be recycled. He was the resident conductor and artistic advisor with the Chamber Music Midwest festival this summer. This was the third season of the event, directed by Clare Harmon and takes place each year in New Richmond, WI.

The folding and the music are such a happy juxtaposition! The talented musicians who used this music now pass it on as paper cranes to help awareness for this important organization.

But, of course, as Anna has foreseen with her call for paper cranes, these sorts of things take on a life of their own. When I folded musical cranes on my lunch break in the workplace kitchen co-workers took up the cause. They are going to be making quite a contribution toward the 100,000 crane goal!

When the cranes are hung in Anna's lobby I will try to get photos to share. If you would like to help, here is a link to a fun animated instruction for folding paper cranes: origami.org.uk/origamicrane

Remember, we are all connected. . . . . . . . . . .