My second party!

Friday evening my sister Roberta and other family members gathered together to have a:  she's finally leaving party. Actually, I was fortunate enough to be able to see a lot of my nieces and nephews and their children at a gathering in honor of my leaving to volunteer in a developing country.  This was a group of my generation cousins and their kids and grandkids  and my sister Roberta's kids and grandkids.  This was really a big deal considering we had to all be brought in in wheelbarrows after having stuffed ourselves on the best, old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner  the day before.  The food was fine but the best for me was my favorite dessert, peppermint stick ice cream and dark chocolate hot fudge sauce!  This party sort of launched me into my final week before leaving for Sri Lanka next Saturday.  I have had a real noticeable mood change.  I am feeling sad..I said goodbye to my partner of 20 years who is in a nursing home unaware of who I am, I said goodbye to my stepchildren and grandchildren, I have a dear friend who was hospitalized this week and I am not with him, I am spending time with my cousins and sisters who are close friends to me and who's counsel I shall miss.  Wow, this is real and sad and wonderful and the measure of my abilities is still coming up...this week I prove my worthiness...I no longer can put it off..this week, packing..leave packed or die!

Moving on with the list including the VISA

     So I left NYC the day after my party and came to the suburbs of Boston to visit family.  It happened not out of nobility or a need to see everyone for three weeks before I leave but frankly because I had to vacate my apartment by Nov. 15 to my subtenant!  Having said that, it is the perfect segway between my NYlife and Sri Lanka.  My family of course, are being loving and wonderful to me and so helpful in finishing up my list (actually I'm on list 3!).  Major item on the list was of course obtaining my visa so I can enter Sri Lanka.  This was the place where one is supposed to trust that everyone outside of oneself does their jobs and I end up with a visa before Dec. 5.   This is part of my daily meditation lesson, to focus, bring myself back to the present , not go off to some nightmare place where the plane is leaving and I have no passport with a visa in it..So, this is my daily struggle and in the meantime I called the Sri Lankan embassy, I called the VSO rep (who is wonderful the the way, Gesa), I was a tiny bit pro-active..not to torture you all with all the details, I now have my visa and passport in hand and am ready to leave for SL on Dec. 5 at 5:30pm!

Food..a post of it's own.. plus

Pretty much my oldest friend, Ruthie, Ruth I guess is more grown up, who I went to Nursing school with is now a chef.  She was head of the test kitchen at Gourmet magazine until it closed several weeks ago.  Anyway, Ruth catered my party and I have to say there was probably enough to feed 200 people.  I must share the menu:  Dill Lox sandwiches on marble rye, Red Pepper, White Bean and Arugula (Vegan), Walnut Honey Cream Cheese on Raisin Bread, Pimento Olive Wraps, Turkey with Mustard Butter, Tuna and Pesto sandwiches, Curried Chicken Sandwiches.  Of course there were also cheeses,  fruit and pita chips, Baba Ganoosh, Hummus and Red Pepper Cheese Spread.    Did I forget to mention desserts like Texas Brownies (my personal favorite), Lemon Shortbread Bars, Ginger Chewies and Chockful Blondies.

I need to tell you that my friend Lin who I went to visit on my most extraordinary trip ever, to Kenya, in 1988, went above and beyond in having this party at her home.  Lin is dealing with a terrible tragedy in her life and yet opened her door through her love.

Vying to host were Lee and Lucy old friends who have been my support thru my own tragedies, never abandoning me and sharing this joy with totally open arms.  As I write this blog I am thinking, is this me who is so cared about?  How did this happen....

I'm leaving New York..

From 3 to 9pm about 60 people arrived to celebrate the fact that I am leaving New York and going off on an adventure.  It was quite wonderful.  Around 3:10 when no one had arrived I asked my friends who were making me the party if they ever gave a party that no one  came to.  I actually did once give a party with a roommate that no one came to but not this party.. they came, so many wonderful people who want to  share my excitement and joy at taking my life in a new direction, sharing it with many new people and having a chance to give whatever I can.  I felt so fortunate.  It's strange to me how many people think I'm brave or adventurous or other things.  I just feel I am doing what I always wanted to finally.  It was hard to kiss and hold my wonderful grandkids and say goodbye but sort of great to know of their genuine love for me.  I gave them all a small pendant of the peace sign which I wear too so we would be connected.  Tomorrow I'll be off to Boston for a 3 week transition before leaving on Dec. 5.

www.cuso-vso.org

WHEN I'M 64...NANCY IN SRI LANKA: First CONTRIBUTIONS

First CONTRIBUTIONS

     My first contributions have come in.  People actually have sent money in support of me, this endeavor, CUSO-VSO..It feels wonderful.  It feels like I cannot change it now, I must continue on my mission. These people believe in me and that I am actually going.  This is serious and I feel an enormous commitment to them and to CUSO- VSO.  This is how I felt when I volunteered to walk for 3 days to raise money for Breast Cancer, an enormous sense of devotion to the commitment.
     I haven't figured out how to link yet so here is where you can SEND A CONTRIBUTION IN MY NAME:

CUSO-VSO
44, rue Eccles Street
Ottawa ON  K1R 6S4
+1 613 829 7445  ext. 272
Toll-Free 1 888 434 2876
Fax: +1 613 829 7996
www.cuso-vso.org

Airline tickets

Today I got an email asking if the airline tickets sound ok.  I fly from Boston to NY to Doha to Colombo.  It took me at least 10 minutes to find out where Doha was, it's in Qatar of course!  So I fly via Qatar Airlines leaving on Saturday Dec. 5 and arriving in Sri Lanka on Dec. 7...Of course I don't have a visa yet but I am sure everything will work out.  It usually does.  This is really happening, this is really real.