Greetings and happy holidays (we're still in the 12 Days of Christmas)! I didn't do physical cards this year - hopefully they will return. But I still wanted to send out a greeting and share some highlights and events of my 2016. I surely didn't escape its notorious brutishness, but thanks to wonderful family and friends like you, there were plenty of good times as well.
In January, I ignored dire travel warnings and headed to NYC for a college friend's daughter's Bat Mitzvah, which was soon dubbed "Daphne's Blizz-Mitzvah." My intrepid college roommate Esther Choo was so fearless she even brought her infant daughter with her. The Starbucks near the synagogue were all closed, but thankfully Scandinavians are used to snow and we managed to get breakfast at a Swedish cafe. Daphne did a beautiful job and it was extra sweet to see my other college roommate, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, presiding over the service. Mazel Tov! And somehow, my train south made it out on time the next day!
In February, I made my first visit to the republic of Texas to visit old friend Lisa and her sweet family, who had recently relocated to Austin. I discovered the joys of breakfast tacos, queso, and burnt ends, and Lisa also absolutely delighted me by driving me by the home of Coach and Tami Taylor from the TV show Friday Night Lights.
In early spring I had a lovely retreat day at a center in Maryland with members of the women's fellowship group at my new church, All Souls in Woodley Park. It's been great settling into the community there, and right at the end of the year we welcomed a new rector, who I'm also enjoying getting to know.
This summer, both my parents turned 70, and we had great family celebrations for each! In June, we surprised my dad with a VIP tour of Fenway Park before a game at which the Red Sox obligingly beat the Mariners, and in July we gathered in Mom's native Hudson Valley area for a weekend at a luxe cabin-style vacation home.
I had some DC fun over the summer too - the center photo was taken near the Folger Shakespeare Library before seeing a play there, and the one to its right was from the DC "Diner en Blanc" - a sort of pop-up dinner party for 3,500 people all dressed head to toe in white. Silly, but beautiful (and the best people-watching, bar none).
Fall brought my cousin Alex's wedding on Cape Cod, which was a great time! The day after, I also got to see the odd sight of the horses from the Falmouth Carousel of Light being dropped off on my parents' lawn awaiting the availability of their winter storage home.
Fall also brought the election. Voting for Hillary Clinton was incredibly meaningful and joyful for me, and nearly two months later my feelings of disappointment and loss are still extremely raw. She would have been an excellent president.
Christmas, as always, was a sweet and wonderful time, though. I spent several days in New Haven, where my sister Amy and her family live and where for the past year-plus my parents have also spent their non-summer months. On my way up I also stopped in NYC to see Hamilton! I bought the ticket way back in January and even with almost a year of anticipation, the show totally delivered. Believe the hype! So that was great, but even greater was getting to spend lots of time cuddling the two newest family members - Caroline Rose, born to my sister Amy in March, and Fern Louise, born to my sister Ellie in August. They are two sweet and smiley little girls and we are all looking forward to watching them grow up as best of friends.
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| Caroline in polka dots, Fern in mushrooms |
A few other highlights not pictured but worth mentioning: in April, my good friend Gopi Kinnicutt opened an awesome yoga studio, Bhakti Yoga DC, in the Mount Vernon Triangle area (5th and K NW). I can't recommend it highly enough. I also got to go to Mexico for a few days in mid-October for the wedding of friends Monica and Brian near Cancun.
So now it's 2017! Should be an interesting year in my hometown. I also am currently unemployed, and looking! My time at the Inter-American Development Bank came to an end along with 2016 - amid budget cuts and a lot of uncertainty, most consultant positions have been eliminated in the department where I worked. I had some great experiences and worked with awesome people over the last 5 years there, but it's also past time for me to find a new challenge and adventure. Given the political situation we're facing, I'd really like to do something where I can contribute to improving the world and helping those who may be most affected by the new administration's policies. So if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them. I am also spending the frequent flier miles I amassed from work trips to Latin America on a visit later this month to my very dear friend Agnes in Paris. First things first!
With love and hope,
Elizabeth
