Parties for Good Causes

The last two weekends, I've been invited to parties with ulterior motives for goodness, and both of them have inspired me to be a little less selfish in my celebration.

Two weekends ago, a close family friend had a birthday party. She throws a big shindig every year for her girlfriends, and this is the first year that I've been able to join along. She's very socially and politically conscious, and tries to add an educational component to each of her parties. This year, before the festivities really got underway, she invited her OB/GYN to come down and give everyone a little talk on how to detect and prevent breast cancer. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a basement surrounded by middle aged women learning the correct way to administer a self breast exam. When I thought about it that way, I'll admit I was more than a little weirded out. But once I stepped back from the situation and thought about it, I realized how selfless that act really was. That my friend wanted to celebrate her birthday by getting the people who matter to her together and teach them life-saving skills.

Just when I thought that I was done with the do-gooding, I was invited to attend a party last week to benefit a campaign at the Maestro's main gig. I love a party just like the next girl, but occasionally I do start feeling like being the Maestro's arm candy is my third full-time job. This party was different, though. One of the Maestro's co-workers actually opened up her home to have a cocktail party for a worthy cause. This isn't the first time that she's done it either. She threw a huge fête for her 50th and requested that all of her guests give money in her honor to the annual fund of their organization.

I don't think that I've ever been that unselfish in my life. Every November I get annoyed by all of the commercialism surrounding the secular Christmas that we celebrate in this country and flirt with the idea of giving alternative gifts to my friends and family. Who knows... maybe this year I flirt a little harder with the idea because of these two awesome ladies.