Good Riddance, 2014

This is my last blog post of the year!

I'm going on vacation after this week. I'm not going anywhere, I'm just going to take a break after a long, challenging and tiring year. I'm looking forward to working on this and maybe making some of these and actually reading the newspaper that comes every weekend and maybe a book.  Ambitious, I know.

As I mentioned rather recently, 2014 has not been especially good or kind to me but what really held me together and got me through (apart from my husband who is especially good and kind in general) was regularly putting focus on all of the good things in and about my life in spite of my difficulties: my husband (as mentioned), our kiddo, living in NYC, the privilege of pursuing artistic goals, cookies . . . you get the idea. So as I sign off 'till 2015, I want to do two things:

ONE - Shout out the good people

This year, just as the sh*t was hitting the fan, I started working with Roz Coleman. She has been an amazing coach and mentor as I continue to push forward with my goals as both an actor and a creator, and I've gotten so much out of working with her.  I can't wait to dive back in in January.

The Signature Theater provided a season of outstanding productions.  I saw many (though not all) and was enriched by each and every one.

I also spent a lot of time around doctors and hospitals and I want to sing the praises of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. The doctors and nurses I encountered there were excellent professionally and, in most cases, just lovely people. I kind of miss seeing them.

Finally, this fall/winter I had back surgery AND my brother broke his foot. We were both treated superlatively at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Shout-outs, also, to the Bank Street Book Store, The Studio School, the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the Children's Museum of Art.  Trader Joe's and AAA also had memorably upstanding moments this past year.

TWO - Remind us all to give.

There's a lot going on in the world.  A lot of people are working really hard to make the world better.  The good news, is that you agree with a bunch of those hard-working people.  (You disagree with plenty of them too.)  I encourage you to  pick a cause you support or a group doing the work you wish you had the wherewithal to do yourself, and make a contribution. Even if it's just a small amount, I find voting with one's feet (where "feet" = dollars) both gratifying and fortifying.

I like the Musella Foundation, Newspapers In Education, The Southern Center for Human Rights, The New York Neo-Futurists, and Urban Pathways.  More generally, I like to support my favorite public radio station, local farms/healthy food programs, and often my alma mater gets a little something.  Lately, I've been thinking about who's doing the work around race and racism that I want to support this year (leave a comment if you have suggestions).

My lists are by no means exhaustive, just a tip of the hat before I sign off for the year.  Who are your favorites from 2014?  Who did especially right by you in one way or another?  Let us know in the comments!

I hope you have a warm, healthy, safe and happy holiday season!  xo ee