HAPPY 2016!

Dear friend,

As you probably know, I am a big ol' Francophile. So I am embracing the French custom of sending a brief New Year's greeting card in January, instead of having stressed out last month to try to get cards out before Christmas. I didn't even order the postcards until after Christmas! So now we all know we have safely arrived in the New Year, and I hope it is off to a sweet start for you.

2015 was a pretty sweet year for me. The first couple of photos on the card you received were taken in DC early last January. The "Let Your Life Speak" doorframe is in Zartman House, the administrative building at my alma mater, Sidwell Friends. I chaired our class's 25th (!!) reunion in the spring, and had so much fun scanning old photos, putting together an amazing late-80s playlist, etc. Our class is full of awesome people and it was very cool to catch up.

BONUS PHOTO: The SFS class of 1990, back in 1990

The next four photos on the card are from the trip to India I mentioned at the end of the 2014 year-in-review. I had wanted to go to India since just about forever. But as some people believe, you have to wait for India to invite you. I finally got the nod last winter and... I won't say it was the trip of a lifetime, because I expect to have plenty more grand adventures in my lifetime (maybe even in India again!), but it was spectacular.

Photo 3 was taken en route, in the airport in Doha, Qatar. It's a giant sculpture of a yellow teddy bear with a desk lamp stuck in its head. Getting to see this sculpture played a surprisingly large role in determining my flight itinerary.

During my first few days in the country, I stayed in Delhi with American friends Matt and Trang Ho Morton, who had moved there a few months earlier for jobs with the World Bank and Unicef, respectively. They were awesome hosts and they and their intrepid driver Chander gave me super sightseeing opportunities, including the Red Fort palace complex, the Qutb Minar tower, and the Taj Mahal (photo 4) in Agra, a few hours from Delhi.

From Delhi, I flew to the southwestern state of Karnataka and embarked on a two-week spiritual journey led by DC-area yoga teacher Gopi Kinnicutt and musician Gaura Vani. There were about 30 people in our group, and we visited the ancient kingdom of Hampi, the coastal temple town of Udupi, a retreat center a little north of Mumbai, and then gigantic Mumbai itself. A year later, it's still really difficult for me to sum up the trip in a few words or to choose just a highlight or two to describe. Photo 5 is of a lotus pond at the retreat center, and photo 6 was taken during the "Flower Festival," an annual celebration at a large temple in Mumbai during which literally tons of flower petals are showered first over the deity statues on the altar and then scooped up and poured on the audience. That was the last night of our trip and a totally fitting way to end the voyage - crowded, colorful, confusing, musical, and full of love! Anyway, if you want to hear MUCH more, look at these photos and then make a coffee or phone date with me. I love to remember that trip.

I took photo 7 at the Kennedy Center in DC in the early spring, and I just like the sentiment (a good one going into an election year). Photo 8 is from a Memorial Day weekend trip to Chicago, a city I hadn't visited before, with my dad. We had such a nice time together we are thinking of other cities we should explore together (considering Toronto for the next one - any recommendations?). Photo 9 is just one I liked from a sunny day in the Dupont Circle area of DC. Photo 10 is from late summer in Falmouth, Mass, Falmouth is the hometown of Katharine Lee Bates, author of "America the Beautiful," and photos like this explain the line "from sea to shining sea!"

The last two photos I took in December on a weekend trip to the Hudson Valley area of New York state. 11 is from a chilly walk on the grounds of the Holy Cross Monastery, where I participated in a beautiful retreat led by Martin Smith, one of the wisest priests I know. And 12 is from a greenhouse where I bought a poinsettia to bring to my grandmother Rosalie, who lives very near the monastery. Grandma's 90th birthday party in early summer was another highlight of the year! Her main request was that there be 90 actual candles on the cake; she didn't want anything symbolic. Most of her great-grandkids were there, and they helped blow them all out.

Deep breath!

Thank you, 2015, for awesome adventures, already-beloved new friends, time with long-beloved old friends and my amazing family, and so much more. 2016 has a lot to live up to, but I'm pretty optimistic.

Love, Elizabeth