Tuesday, November 20, 2007

November 20, 2007

Thanksgiving stops us to appreciate our bounty, to lovingly prepare and sit together, to celebrate tradition and to innovate. Mine will be spent with my family and two of my four grandchildren. I look forward to making the cranberries, pies (apple with a hint of cardamom and pumpkin, traditional) and vegetables. I look forward to playing long games of train with Matthew, just turned three, holding and rocking Rebecca, six weeks, and free-wheeling conversation with all the adults around the table.

Over the past month I have continued to have a wonderful flow of friends from near and far to fill my weekends. My weeks are taken with teaching and taking care of myself. I have also gone to Ann Arbor to see my mother, brother and sister-in-law. While in Ann Arbor I saw a thrilling University of Michigan performance of La Boheme conducted by Martin Katz, a cherished family friend. Music takes us to places we cannot otherwise go.

My first phase of treatment is due to end around the beginning of the new year. The second phase as currently planned will be more widely spaced and less harsh. My hair is already sprouting in anticipation… The rhythms of my life are more normal. I am looking forward to holidays, continuing my teaching in New York, my annual Feathered Pipe week with Dean Lerner in Isla Mujeres and the promise of old and new friends, sun and sea.

I am appreciating all the generosity that has come to me, reading books you have inspired, and holding dear in my head and heart all your kind thoughts, spoken and unspoken, written and unwritten.

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!
Mary