What a delightful party last night at the L.'s! Got there at 4:00--theirs are always early, which I appreciate--and was greeted outside by Danny S., who asked me how Pat was doing. I was surprised he didn't know and he was embarrassed when I told him Pat had died in August, but I reassured him I wasn't upset at the question. His Kate wasn't able to be there because she recently fell and broke her pelvis; she also suffers from depression.
The others arrived shortly: Barbara and Frank, Don and Noreen, Rita, and Audrey. The L.'s had again hired Joe M. (a Holy Spirit attendee himself)to play the keyboard, which he did throughout the evening. Unfortunately, the music was too loud for us to talk comfortably and we had to raise our voices. I guess nobody thought it was up to them to request he play more softly, but we managed to talk and talk anyway.
Dinner included both turkey and pork, plus butternut squash, rolls, smashed 'taters, cranberry sauce, and so on. Noreen made a scrumptious cheesecake and there was frozen tira masu, too.
After, we had fun drawing numbers and choosing the $5 gifts we had each brought. The idea is that anybody after number one can exchange what he or she has for something from a lower number. It was a lot of fun.
Everybody left shortly after 8, which suits me better (and others in my age group, I'm pretty sure) than gatherings that go on later. Got home before 9:00, relaxed for a time with another glass of wine and went happily to bed.
We started being invited to the L.'s Christmas party 7 or 8 years ago. Pat was relatively well then, and we always attended. The last three gatherings, though, he was unable to go and I went by myself. With one exception, all the others are Pat's, not my, age and it shows. They are slowing down or even, like Kate, slipping away, I think. Each year, some are gone for good (now there are three widows in the group) and several have suffered bouts of cancer or heart disease.
But last night was great fun. I always think of the L.'s party as the kick-off to the Christmas season and am glad to be included.
WIDER: Here's the bubbly truth in a nutshell:
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/war_and_peace_20091203/