It was wonderful to ring in the new year with good friends, good fun and a few drinks. As I was cleaning up today (I know... but the party continued yesterday!) and dealing with the trash and recycling I decided to actually take the recycling to the liquor store for redemption. Being a Rhode Islander I have to drive "all the way" to Massachusettes to do this. I don't feel guilty as 99% of our bottles and cans are purchased there so we have actually paid the .05 per bottle/can. Also, being in Pawtucket, a number of residents will take all the returnables out of our recycling bins so that they can redeem the money for their own benefit...screw them.
Throughout this process I was thinking about how lucky we are to be able to host a party, enjoy a "feast" and beverages with good friends. We are lucky to have a house, purchase snacks & drinks, provide games and enjoy what we do have. I know that there are people out there who do not have these luxuries but since I don't see them, it's easy to not think about them. So I decided to donate the money from redeeming the bottles & cans to the Rhode Island Food Bank (http://www.rifoodbank.org/). Though our small donation isn't much by itself I feel that it will be usedd in a meaningful way.
I just wanted to let you know that not only was a good time had by all, we also made a small difference in this world.
Happy New Year!
