Silver and gold

I often write about physical health and wellness, but today I write about the spirit. I just finished a week that started and ended with gathering of friends. I can wholeheartedly agree with all those studies published touting the health benefits of interaction with others! I feel that this week, I was really blessed with the "silver and gold" friends in my life.

Sunday brought Drinks, Dessert and Diapers, benefiting DePelchin, an event thought up by myself and my buddy Susan Barnes. I just became friends with Susan this year ... we are fellow Junior League members, and hit it off immediately. I discovered later this is because her birthday is the day before mine, so she shares a lot of my Virgo qualities. While volunteering at the Extreme Home Makeover build in July, we decided we should celebrate our days together, and it would be cool to do something for others instead of just having a party for ourselves.

It was decided we'd do a charity item drive, and after researching several organizations, learned that DePelchin Children's Center has a program for teen moms in transition that could use diapers. It took a few months from our August birthdays, but we harnessed the power of Facebook and our networks and to date, have collected more than 6500 diapers (about 20 weeks worth!).

What was great about this project was it brought so many people together around a cause. In the weeks leading up to the party, we had people bringing us diapers every time we turned around. At the party, everyone from family, fellow League members, Leadership Houston classmates, co-workers (past and present), even some UH alums and Susan's choir members were part of the success.

Not only was it so rewarding to see so many old and new friends, but I am grateful for the new bond I have established with my partner in crime. This event has brought to light a big need in our community, and we're already scheming about how to take on that larger initiative. Stay tuned as I'm sure there will be more to come soon!

The week ended with a watch party at our house for the UH v. SMU game. The friends we had over are some of our oldest friends ... since college, in fact (though Adam went to school with Joe since middle school). These are our friends who have seen us at our craziest ... and still are willing to hang out with us. Anyone who has known me for a good length of time knows that if I laugh so hard I snort, it's REALLY funny ... well, I snorted a lot on Saturday. It was great to just let loose and goof around for a few hours (which became 6 thanks to the storm delay in the game, which we quickly remedied with some Wii tournaments).

This has been a particularly active few months for me, and these two parties remind me that it's all about the people. I will try to keep that in perspective the next few weeks when I get stressed or overwhelmed about the balance. Because within that activity, I'm creating a lot of interactions which are likely benefiting both their and my health in the big picture.

So whether you are a new friend or old, thanks for being my friend. I may not get a chance to say it to each of you or even see you often enough to do so, but I appreciate you being whatever part of my life you are able to be. I hope I can be just as good to you in return.