Tomorrow is church and the annual UNICEF carnival and then back to do the final prep for the party and then it's party hearty from 3 to 5ish. The house has been abustle with preparations. Cookie baking, treat bags to stuff, decorations to make, games to build etc. The kids have all in some way contributed to the efforts. I want them to have fun but they also need to understand what putting on a party is The plan, the process, the fun end result. . Someday I fully plan to sit back and know that they are capable of throwing one themselves. They are surprisingly close to that.
KC pretty much gets it. He was in bed last night worrying that his friends would not have fun. LOL I assured him that no one could come and not have fun. Games crafts food and costumes are a pretty winning combination. But what he would need to do as the host was to make sure that everyone felt welcome as both he and Lissa have a large guest list that draws from a variety of their friends. So there are neighborhood kids, kids from the big city where we go to church, kids from Girl Scouts and dance class and friends we met at the playground years ago and became besties with. We talked about how you make people welcome and he visibly relaxed. He so intensely wants people to be happy and have fun that guy.
Rob went out with his former girl friend this week. He is taking his new friend who is a woman to lunch later this week. There is a reasonably priced restaurant with awesome food near the college they both attend. I asked him if it felt weird hanging out just as friends with T who had been his one and only for so long. He laughed and said not really. I wonder if he was more in love with the idea of being in love? At any rate, he is happy and he is widening the boundaries of his world and that is what I hoped for.
I contrast this joy with the recent media coverage of the Ebola disease. I am saddened to see people rail against a doctor who worked to ease the suffering of others. Really? He volunteered for Doctors without Borders and you think he intentionally rode the subway in NY to infect others? I am heartbroken to read of children orphaned by the disease who are not taken in by family or the community out of desparate fears of contagion. Reading last night about how hard it is to get water in this part of the world, it became more easy to understand how the improper hygiene is fueling the epidemic. It is a cruel disease and a scary one. What is most scary to me though is the fact that in the face of crisis, our humanity to others and our capacity to act from a place of love is diminished.
No comments:
Post a Comment