How do I begin to tell what this year has brought me? The last day of May, 2016 marked the day I entered a new fantastic phase of my life. What a landmark year for me! It was a special gift to me because after a near death experience in my 20’s I had never dreamed I would still be living and experiencing so much life. What a roller coaster ride! Growing along the way brought me hurdles I thought I’d never be able to overcome but now I have been given the opportunity to see it was all a divine growth experience—and yes, those growth experiences are still happening. I have been given grace and gratitude.
Allow me to speak of gratitude for those things that happened when I decided to tell my three children what I would like for my 80th birthday. I had thought long and hard and weighed the possibilities, I finally decided rather than a large party or concert with family and friends from across the country (which could be costly for many of them to attend either physically or financially New York) I would like to have another adventure. I love jazz and travel. I told them I wanted to attend Barry Harris’ Jazz Workshop in Rome, Italy in September. I had never been to Italy (though I did step over the border in the 80’s on my first trip to France). But Rome; magnifico! When I announced my desire, the three of them said together over (quite appropriately) pizza, “You’re going to Rome!”
Landmark Roma!
