[Prudence]

I haven't made much of a secret that my feelings were hurt a lot. On the one hand, I'm glad it was a splendid party that was enjoyed by all who attended. On the other hand, it also feels like so many LoT folks were invited that it was a de facto LoT swanking - only there were just a very few local "regulars" who were not invited. I'm trying to be grown up about it and recognize that much of my emotional response stems from facing down my first set of birthday/winter holidays as a transplant - without my mommy - and I'm already feeling very lonely. But, it still feels an awful lot like deliberate exclusion. I'm trying to control those feelings, but I'm generally less successful than I'd like.