Wow. 2011 is behind us, and 2012 is just getting under way.
Many in this community have been gifted with lifetime subscriptions to help keep the community thriving, while all year long people have been actively working to restore sanity, democracy & accountability to our torn and tattered political system while the Republican freak show continues its tour of the nation.
It's been a wild ride.
And it's not over yet.
It was a Saturday. Saturday, 29 December 2007, to be exact. Not long after Mumsie1 passed away. We didn't get out much back then - hadn't been out much for almost the entire span of our marriage at that time. We got the invite from some fellow Kossacks to join up at a (moderately undisclosed) location in midwestern MA and decided that attendance was just what we needed.
It was one of the best times we'd had - and certainly good for our recovery from the loss of Mumsie, after our long caregiving journey with her.
We met some great folks:
Sharoney
mem from somerville
gmoke
sardonyx
Thestral
HawkWife
GreyHawk
AnotherMassachusettsLiberal
We interacted with a whole bunch of other crazed fellow Kossacks online: the diary we posted hit the Rec List in what seemed almost record time, and we solidified some online friendships with real-world meetings over a mutual exchange of food, alcohol & camaraderie.
That's the value of community.
That's the magic that this community brings to its members.
And that's only part of what I'd like to say. But, I'm going to keep this REALLY short, and say simply this: Happy New Year, and thank you all for being part of the wonderful mix of voices that share & build together here.
Please share your best memories from the past years - from whatever point you'd found & joined this community - in the comments below, and let us know what you want & what you are striving for in the year ahead.
Namaste.
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Footnotes
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- Mumsie = mother of HawkWife & mother-in-law of GreyHawk. Our caregiving experience is told in the book Her Final Year: A Care-Giving Memoir and His First Year: A Journey of Recovery, co-authored with Shadan7 and his Good Wife.