I was riding home after the Columbine "Family" Christmas party about seven in the evening, and I felt an enormous pride as we rode through Mancos. Lots of lights in homes and businesses.

The empty corner at Main and Grand was filled with Christmas trees, and a "magical house" trimmed with twinkling lights. Everywhere you looked there was holiday magic. New businesses opening up, people bustling around, and I am, once again filled with gratitude for where I live.

Jim and I moved 10 years ago without a clue about Mancos or Southwest Colorado. We had lived in California for many years, but wanted to shed big city life and find a home in a small town. I jumped into the arts, first with the Grand Avenue mural (me and 50 volunteers) then taking over the Arts Council for five years. Many fun projects - the Cowboy Photo booth, the ArtFest/Street Fair, the Mancos Town Gallery, and so on. Along the way, I had lots of help from a moving list of board members - Betsy Harrison, Patricia Burke, Bryan Kyle, Brad Goodell, Mac Neely, Nadia Hebard, Jama Collins, Marilyn Kroeker, Jan Wright, Steve Williams, Kim Russell (good lord, I hope I didn't leave anyone out). I am grateful to all of them.

As many of you know, I have Parkinson's Disease and in the past year, it has become much worse. The first six years were a breeze, but this year - a truly "dread" disease. It's a reminder of age - I turn 76 next summer. But as my ability to do "everything" lessens, I have turned to slower pursuits, things that can go on without me. The Arts Council barrels ahead with Marilyn Kroeker and Jan Wright at the helm. The Martin Luther King breakfast has younger hands to tend to it. And I am grateful that this is a community that has many, many young people who live here deliberately to participate in a slower, more meaningful life, who will pick up where I and others of my generation must leave off.

So, if you do not see me as often, doing lots of downtown stuff, that's why. I am slowed down and taking life one step at a time. I'm still involved in the Mancos Press Project and considering what my next artistic evolution will be. But, in the meantime, I will continue to write this column and stay in touch. I thank you all for your participation in the arts, and letting me know about it. You can reach me at 533-753 or online at [email protected]

Happy holidays and a creative New Year!

Reach Dian Law at (970) 533-7536 or email at [email protected]. Be sure to check out our website - www.mancosarts.org.