
I wanted to say the same, St. Domingo. This year has been very hard for my immediate family in all sorts of ways, and today they are holding a memorial for my wonderful oldest brother, who died on Boxing Day in California, thousands of miles from our family in New York. My mother has had to cope with the shock of learning that he had been a heroin addict for most of the last 35 years and that the love we gave him was not enough to make the difference.
I hope 2013 will bring better days for all of us, no matter what our circumstances; that we won't be as quick to judge others who don't share our values; that we will have the courage to take on our biggest challenges, whatever they are; and that somewhere we will find the strength and compassion needed to do what we can for those who need it most. If we can do that, next New Year's day will be of a different order of celebration.