My neighbor turned 95 this weekend and he was gracious enough to let us celebrate with him.  Family, friends and others descended on his home, ate his food, shared his local micro brews and tried, surreptitiously, to get some hints on longevity.  

I will pause here to note that this wonderful and gracious man still chops his own wood with a good ol' fashioned axe!  He also is fond of his woodchipper, especially early on a Saturday morning.  

When lightning felled a very large tree in front of his house two years ago he was puzzled when our whole family came by the next morning to offer our assistance.  Later that day, he and his 91 year old brother were at work with a chainsaw, TCB.

In our house, this time of year means visitors are coming and we have to clear out the spare room to make space.  But the closets are all full and the garage looks like a thrift store.  Time to part with some treasures.  

We usually pack everything up and take it all to the local Goodwill drop location but this year, being relatively new in town, we decided to be a little more proactive and try to support other charities in our community that are doing good work but are less well known.  Less known to us anyway.

In the time I devoted to my search I found a few options for the things we have appreciated and hope others can find useful.  However, I would also like to solicit feedback from those who have donated to or worked with other charities that may not have the funds to do the kind of PR that puts them top of mind for the average person.

On a recent and rare sun-filled spring afternoon, my daughter was playing with a friend at our home.  These two pre-schoolers did the things that little kids do: dug holes in unfortunate places in the garden, ran through too-tall grass while making noises that most closely approximated a whistling teakettle and they also played ‘house’.  

To my surprise and with admiration, I noted that neither wanted to be the baby.  So, imaginary baby had two mommies.  Then my daughter decided it was time to do what adults do:

‘Okay, it’s time to talk about Barack Obama.’