Prizes! Better than gifts because it doesn't involve shipping or stores

Last Wednesday, as I walked around my dismal galley kitchen cloaked in bitter resentment, I decided on a whim to make a fudge sauce even though I had never tried such a thing.  I poured a cup of heavy cream into a sauce pan and asked An Offspring to watch it while I flitted about preparing the labor intensive deviled eggs that everyone demands and no one sous chefs.  The cream boiled over creating a giant, smelly mess on my ancient electric cook top.  I poured some more cream in the pot and demanded The Same Offspring to pay closer attention.  Not knowing how much cream was in the pot, I dumped the entire bag of chocolate in the pan and stirred.  It looked horrid.  I kept stirring.  I poured some on the cake and put the rest in the fridge.

Despite its inauspicious preparation and my callous disregard for a recipe, it turned out delicious and rich.  It was my favorite dish Christmas Day, to be honest.  I don't think it could have come out any better.

We have had a very eventful year.  We have seen weddings and divorces.  We have seen sickness and health.   We have nursed our beloveds through all kinds of physical and emotional pain.  We have watched our children struggle with inner demons.  We have had to cut ties with people who had previously been close to us.  We have started and ended jobs.  We have agonized over decisions that affect our family.  We have dealt with work albatrosses and betrayals from unexpected sources.  We have welcomed a new baby in our group.

My chocolate sauce reminds me of the Whiners Ball.  The instructions to Life do not really tell you all you need to know.  We make mistakes.  In our lives, we don't always measure our kindness or our attentions carefully.  Sometimes things spill over and make a mess.  Sometimes we need Ralph to stir things up a bit or else we end up a with a goopy lump that does no one any good.  With the grace and counsel we offer one another, we have made a community that is more than just about sharing whines and anti-whines.  Despite living in the four corners of the continent, we have (largely online) sustained a friendship over several years.

That is the greatest prize of all.  No matter what happens, we can come here. We can share soup and chocolate and know we have a Posse of Wise Women in our corner. 

Thank you, all of you, for keeping this a safe and nurturing space.