Gather
Did you watch the Golden Globes on Sunday night? I did, even though it interrupted my important schedule of worrying and fretting about my first teaching session the next morning.
(Truly. Earlier in the evening we were supposed to go somewhere and I told G, "I can't go! I'm teaching tomorrow!" And he said "But aren't you all ready? Aren't you done preparing?" And I said, "Yes but I have to stay home so I can worry about it. I've got some serious stewing to do that requires my
complete attention." So silly.)
Back to the Golden Globes. Kate Winslet (love her!) won her first and her second GG awards in one night and in
her second speech she was flummoxed and aflutter and verklempt and said to herself several times:
Gather.
What a great word. It's my new pocket-sized personal pep talk. And I needed it right then.
Gather, Annie.
Speaking of gather, I heard a
great This I Believe broadcast the other day when I was shuttling kids around. It was by a man who lives in Paris who invites as many people as can fit in his house for dinner for a feast every Sunday night. The first 50-60 people who call get a place--strangers, friends, artists, truck drivers, writers, cartoonists, retirees, editors. There's even a link on the site so
you can reserve a place at his table. He says "I believe in introducing people to people...I believe we should know each other." How cool is that? I'm so inspired by his Sunday salons...I might have to try something like that.
Gather. Yes I will: gather my wits, my thoughts. Gather people.
(And now the word gather looks and sounds very strange to me. Huh. Weird.)