This past weekend I spent five days in Arizona to celebrate many events. Certainly it is a celebration when our family gets together. My sons love little more than spending time with their cousins.

My husband and I also celebrated at a friend’s wedding. With our own anniversary coming up next week, we had the opportunity to celebrate our own marriage and the life we have created together.

Family and friends: they are two of the important communities in our lives.

But I also had the privilege to speak to a number of different groups while I was in Phoenix. Many of those who attended were a part of our lives at the time of my accident. They prayed for us, they sent letters, they lifted us when we needed their love and care. They were part of the reason I - and my family - were able to heal as well as we have, and I felt blessed to share with them the impact their goodness has had on our lives.

Tonight I speak to a new community in our lives: my sons’ school - and the Annapolis community at large. St. Anne’s has been a defining school for us. It has given such much to our family and again I feel privileged to contribute and give back to this community. 

How blessed I am - within one week - to share and celebrate life’s challenges and joys with communities that cared for me as a child and a community that now cares for my own children.