Monthly musing from Rebecca Crichton

I am beginning to juggle the multitude of activities and meanings associated with December. There are the holidays themselves – Chanukah starting on the evening of Thursday, December 7th, for eight nights; Christmas with friends, sharing in and appreciating their traditions.

I stopped giving expensive gifts to people years ago. Now, I’m sorting through the gifts I have bought over the year, hoping to remember who already I gave JarKey Openers to – check them out; they’re among my favorite little gifts.

New Year’s Eve looms. I usually ask a small group of people to my place where we eat festively and contemplate friendship, the year past and what the new year appears to offer.  

For NWCCA, my Associate Director Ruth Neuwald Falcon and I are brainstorming about what will remain in our work and what new direction calls to us.

This past year has included our regular collaboration with Town Hall. Check out our final event of 2023: On December 12, Misha Berson will moderate an open discussion about Seattle’s theatrical landscape with three directors of leading local theatre companies.  

I have presented at NEST several times and started my first Discussing the Undiscussables group. Each time we meet, we learn how important this group is to its members.

I taught a class on Grief and Loss for Lifetime Learning Center and will be offering another one on Grief and Resilience in January. We have also begun to present Wisdom Cafes in some of the libraries of the King County Library.

I continue to have ongoing discussions with friends and others concerning disability and end-of-life issues. People I love are struggling with diagnoses that require honesty, compassion and acceptance. I try to harmonize the recognition of how I can help and how the best help is the gift of listening and acknowledging what someone else is experiencing. As they say in hospice trainings: “Don’t just do something, sit there!” Sitting there might well be what we all need to do more of as we enter this season.  

As you can see from the December offerings – kudos to Ruth who continues to curate the many resources and share the ones she thinks will engage you most – there are enough choices to keep you fully occupied for the month!

As you contemplate what December brings and means to you, we wish you a time for peace and gratitude, sharing and laughter.
Rebecca and Ruth

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NWCCA’s Collaboration with Seattle’s Town Hall

Seattle Theatre Lives!
Moderated by Misha Berson

Tuesday, December 12, 7:30 PM, Wyncote NW Forum
1119 8th Ave. (entrance off Seneca St.), Seattle
$5 – $25 sliding scale

Click here for more details and ticket info.