Happy New Year!

A friendship shout out from Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow

Hello beloved readers -

It’s been a strange couple of months.

In November, my Mom and I (on very short notice) took my son Charlie to St. Lukes in Boise to remove a bowel impaction - a process that eventually took almost a week in the hospital.

In late November and early December, we had two welcome visits from my wife and elder child (who’ve both been living apart from Charlie and I since September). They were, by turns, loving, awkward, contentious, familiar, joyous, and sad. Needless to say, navigating the thorny path of separating what has been ongoing for over 20 years isn’t easy.

On both visits, I was heartened by the stunning growth and self-possession of my daughter, Katie, who has transformed and blossomed in her new High School and life. She’s clearly in the right place and, while I miss her dearly, I’m overjoyed that the difficult decision to move her to a new place is paying off so well.

And now, after a relaxed and intimate Christmas, I’ve just spent the last week with COVID! How it caught up with me now (I’ve never had it before - even when Charlie got it a couple of years ago) is beyond me.

Suffice it to say, much that had been planned and expected did not turn out as I thought or hoped this fall. Improvisation has been necessary and I feel like the cracks are showing. How on earth can I be ready for 2024?

A couple of days ago (through my coughing and sneezing), Mom and I watched video of a town hall podcast by Chris Hayes called “Why Is This Happening?”. His guest was Rachel Maddow talking about her brilliant new book, “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism”. In it, she highlights ordinary people who found ways to head off authoritarian/fascist movements that were happening in our own country in the run up to WW2 and, in the final moments of the interview, she spoke eloquently about one of the chief ways we all have to develop resilience for what is surely going to be a bumpy ride in 2024: “You need to have people you can call - not just because they're on your side, but because you know them and they know you and you are Americans together in a difficult moment. And I want that kind of resilience for us all.”

Amen.

As we start the new year together, dear readers of “The Friendship Garden”, let’s re-center our focus on relationships. Let’s put down the phone, make the call, repair the bridge, and build new ones. Friendships, relationships, and acquaintances may just be the kind of connective tissue which enables us all to pass through the dark moments of the next year with resilience, compassion and - dare I say it - joy.

This blog will be here to highlight my practice of friendship and I look forward to sharing the ride with you all!

Happy New Year!