On Sunday, we will celebrate Mother’s Day and I want to wish all of you who are mothers and those who have acted as mothers and mentors to others a very special day. Ironically, on this occasion, I always think of a friend’s mother whom I never met. Her name was Elizabeth Healy and she lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut where she raised 13 children. My friend, Jim, was number 12 and he liked to recount that when his mother was in the maternity ward after he was born, someone asked his mother Elizabeth, if Jim was her first child. Elizabeth responded, “First dozen!” As funny as I found that story, the one that has really touched me deeply is that another person once asked Elizabeth if she had a favorite child, given that she has so many. Again, she was quick with her answer. “Of course, I have a favorite. It’s the one that is sick or trouble. The one that needs me that day is my favorite.” Elizabeth probably spoke those words fifty or more years ago and yet when I think of them, I still well up with tears. I like to think of the Village as being there for its members just as Elizabeth was there for each of her children. If someone needs a little help, our trusted volunteers are there with transportation, household help, technology assistance, cooking, etc. For others, it’s the programs that are of interest. We’ve been adding to our list of programs and this month are offering an in-person Lunch Bunch (May 12), a walk through Rock Creek Park (May 13), a pottery painting class (May 19), Caregivers Support Group (May 26), and tours of Hillwood Gardens (May 27) and Tregaron Conservancy (May 30). I urge everyone to click on “Calendar” and you’ll see all of our programs. Just click on the event of interest and then click to register. Once registered, you’ll be sent both a confirmation email and a reminder email. Of course, if you’d prefer, you can also call the office at 202-615-5853 and we will register you for the event. Finally, I want to let you know that for those that attend a specific event regularly (such as a book club, yoga, French conversation, stretching, etc.) we will automatically register you for the class and then you will get a reminder email about the class. I’ve heard from some of you that this reminder would be helpful so we’re trying this out to assist those for whom this would be beneficial.