The last several months have left me feeling anxious, uncertain, untethered. I've sat an immeasurable amount of hours staring out my window watching the birds peck at the ground. Eating the seeds that have fallen from the feeder and pecking and scratching something new from underneath. Pecking and scratching. It's when I put those words to what I was watching that I . . . that I . . .. That I what? I don't know. That I started to feel something more. The current state of politics across the globe, yes. But also my oldest is in her last year of high school. I've written before about this changing dynamic. The road trips visiting colleges. The lens through which I look that frames every event, moment and thing as "the last time." I've started stitching hearts. I already believe that stitching and giving a quilt is an act of love. I'm stitching up heart blocks and feel love, gratitude, acceptance, peace, and compassion well up inside of me as I do. I need another quilt like I need another hole in my head. And yet, I need this quilt most of all.
Love,
dana
11 comments:
Dana, your post really rang a bell to me! I have only one daughter, and we are very close. When she was finishing up her senior year, I knew that she would be soon leaving the State to go away to college. It was very difficult for me. I think that is when I started my quilting journey. They say that when you are totally immersed in your craft (for me it was quilting) that all the stress you have in your body/mind is lifted.
The time is now, 20 years later, and I am still quilting and loving the process. I now have 4 grandkids, ranging from 6 to 16 and we are living in the same State as our grandkids. Life is good, and I am quilting like I am going to die tomorrow.............Take care and keep on quilting........Nettie
Motherhood is the hardest job on earth. Raise your kids and watch them go. Your story ...and solidarity ... warms my heart.
I hear you loud and clear. This letting go thing is no easy task. I believe that I may just stitch up some hearts myself.
Dana I was at that exact point years ago when my youngest son was heading off to college. I was feeling so unsettled and unready for the big changes heading towards me. That's when I found your quilt-a-long and I found it so therapeutic to learn quilting and meet some new friends. My son was so sweet too because when he left for school he told me he'd love a quilt for his dorm bed. I'm not convinced he really wanted a quilt but he understood I needed something to work on. Our second quilt-a-long with wonky log cabins is his quilt and he still loves it!
I've always been so grateful to you for introducing me to quilting when I needed it most! Remember life is full of stages and changes so enjoy where you are and look forward to the next one.
xo
It's kind of comforting knowing someone else ot stitching hearts too. :)
Xo!
I certainly know that feeling of time passing too quickly and just sitting still staring out of the window in the hope it would slow it down. My daughter is 22 now but the night before her 18th birthday I listened to the Abba song Slipping Through My Fingers and I sobbed and sobbed my heart out. Three years later and it's not so bad and I realise I shouldn't have worried so much about my baby growing, I should have embraced the next chapter that was about so start. A lot easier to say now than it would of been for me to say 3 years ago xx
As they grow older and leave the nest - sometimes the therapy works both ways as we create a quilt to cover them with love when they begin that new adventure on their own.
Did you check out any universities in my area ;)
Yes! Very true!
Post a Comment