I was bracketed this week by both happy and sad news.  First we received news of 3 engagements!  My first cousin Jon Donenfeld, my daughter-in-law’s brother Justin Lucas and one of our family friends Drew Morris all announced their engagements.  This is such a fun time in the lives of these young people and we are so thrilled to be connected to it.  We’re in the midst of wedding planning for our son Todd and it is such a joy to see him and Emmanuelle so happy.  But life is not just about beginnings, it is sometimes about endings.  My father’s best friend and one of the sweetest people I know, Steve Weisbader died on Friday and our dear friend Gary Lauder lost his mother Evelyn yesterday – both were in their 70’s and in the center of their loving families’ lives – too soon, it seems, to leave us.

This juxtaposition is a poignant reminder to treasure the happy moments we have – the circle of life means they will inevitably be interrupted with sad times as well.  I tried to do some “treasuring” this weekend.   Friday we watched Adam play in our high school’s big rivalry football game, Saturday morning a long walk with friends then we drove to Stockton with Adam to have  dinner with my in-laws.  My mother-in-law cooked one of her outstanding meals capped with a homemade berry pie and my father-in-law treated us to an incredible bottle of wine from his cellar, a 1988 Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  A happy dinner with family is as special as it gets – it was nice to recognize that.  Today we spent the day watching Adam’s lacrosse team play in a tournament – three games in a sunny 60’s degree day on the Sac State campus with beautiful foliage around us.  Life is very good, I want to be sure to savor it.