What’s a family to do when the Packer season abruptly ends and an interminable winter looms dark and cold?
Gather sweet friends for a big ole aca-awesome party. That’s what we did Saturday night and it turned out to be one of our most Fundamentally Sound ideas.
We took some of the nicest people we know, settled them into our church cafeteria, entertained them with a Stylistics-loving DJ and our favorite all-male acappella group, and really enjoyed the show.
Thankfully, our guests are the salt of the earth because our ficklest friend, the Wisconsin weather, shellacked our pretty little city in slippery ice, making travel and walking treacherous.
Once our fearless party goers tucked themselves in under the twinkle lights our friend Keith spent the afternoon helping me string, some good old fashioned kibitzing began.
I paused briefly during my happy hostess rounds, looked across the room and thought, “How lucky are we?”
Our daughters Katherine, who had driven up from her busy life in Chicago just to help us throw our party, and Molly, who spent her whole Saturday cheerfully helping us set up, kept an eye on the food and beverages.
My mom, who is 25-years older than I and eight inches shorter, gamely helped me haul a table down a steep flight of stairs in a Laurel and Hardy worthy scene.
My nephew Traveain, who with his roadie/father Keith and my sister Kathy drove up from Milwaukee for the night, volunteered to DJ for the evening.
Our son Vinnie and the charming, talented group of young men with whom he sings, conveyed a pure love of music and a contagious joy during their two-set performance.
Our priest, the unflappable Father Bill, helped us plan, setup and enjoy the festivities.
And our friends, who helped in so many ways, made the party relaxing and fun.
In my opinion, the best part about getting older is the opportunity it offers to enjoy a widening circle of friends.
Saturday night, we saw many of them during our own little winter soul-stice, a warm celebration of music and joy.












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