Friendlies and Fiction

Yesterday I enjoyed a service at Main Line Unitarian Church, which I attended for more than a decade. I talked to many people with whom I worked on committees, skied on the annual ski trip, or traveled to service projects and protests. I have such love for the people there--they are so committed to making the world a better place. They have a new minister, a Southerner who found the South too suffocating theologically. One of the first things he did was fire the guy who managed the MLUC office--a guy a lot of us found difficult to work with. The minister has made a lot of very positive changes and it’s so nice to see MLUC thriving under his ministry.

Last night was dinner with three MLUC buddies. One focuses on reproductive rights, one on gun laws, the third on HIV education in Africa. It’s pretty humbling to hear about all they are doing. The third, Sarah, teaches at Agnes Irwin, a private girls school. She’s always taking groups of girls to work in Africa at orphanages, or do an outward bound course in Costa Rica, or something that takes great courage and responsibility. For the past three years she has hosted a Chinese student who will start at Princeton in the fall. I think she is just amazing.

Today was lunch with three former Vanguard colleagues--catching up on office gossip. When they talked about content management systems and time tracking software and HR training courses, I was reminded how grateful I am to be an ocean away from that world.

Tonight was dinner with Catherine and Al Renzi, goat cheese makers in Chester Springs. Catherine made ribollita, a Tuscan bean and vegetable stew that I love. There was a spread of their many cheese varieties. It was good to hear their news--and exhausting to think of keeping a new crop of kids alive through the late winter. Literally, kids in bathtubs in different hosts' houses to get them through their first week.

Catherine is one of three women I know who has taken up painting as a serious part of her life. She’s set up a studio and paints regularly. I think women get to an age where they know they have untapped potential--some part of them looking for expression. Sometimes I feel that way--like I’d like to attempt a piece of fiction. And then I wise up.
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