An Ending

2nd Friday has likely seen its end. The plan was to host roughly six of the Friday night potluck dinner parties in order to create an opportunity for friends to see one another. There were two in November (2nd Friday and Black Friday), December skipped, January, February, and March . That is two months shy of six months, and one gathering short of a half dozen. But I think we are done still.
April's 2nd Friday is Good Friday because Easter, '09 falls on the second weekend of the month. We'll take a pass on that evening for filling the house with a couple dozen people. I looked out into May to realize that 2nd Friday is likely Mother's Day weekend. It was a little too easy to continue to excuse myself from future hostessing with the upcoming holidays, and that fills me with the suspicion that it is time to end the social experiment formerly known as 2nd Friday.
As to those people the mister and I were concerned about not seeing as often as we would like... I suspect we know where to find them. And we are certainly easy to find. The hope that others would also want to continue relationships which no longer had an "official" purpose, might also wish to host, or organize other gatherings to help everyone stay in touch has turned out to be realistic. One group of women will likely be gathering on periodic Saturday mornings for a brunch, occasional coffee dates or movie nights amongst the various regular guests, the mister and I have received some welcome invitations, and there has been a support network amongst some friends in difficult situations that has grown up. Much of that would have happened anyway, but I like the idea that maybe the 2nd Fridays helped to serve as an encouragement and a means for people to stay connected and even to begin some new friendships.