Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of the day the Legendary Husband and I said I do.
It was rather unusual, as these events go. A Thursday evening… just before my seminary graduation on Sunday.
All the family was in town. We had invited the entire Columbia community, along with the congregations of 4 churches. And, we had no money. It was, to put it mildly, a whole lot of church and very little fluff!
What with my rather fumbling attempts to learn Greek and Hebrew, along with way more polity than I remember, I had not, at that point in my journey, become an actual quilter.
In retrospect, that ceremony was a wondrous quilt of our journeys and our hopes, and all manner of things we couldn’t have imagined at the time.
Along the way, inspired by memories of my Gramma Elsie and a brilliant woman named Gwen Marston, I did become a quilter, of the liberated persuasion.
And, like most of my kind, I developed a bit of a fabric fetish!
I used to string bits of this and fat quarters of that along the back of the couch when I was hatching a design. And I’d sit, sometimes for weeks, staring at the bits until they told me what they wanted to be.
The last couple of weeks have felt a great deal like that, though I’m quilting dreams and words, just now, instead of fabric.
I’m getting close. A few that just didn’t play well have volunteered to wait for another project.
Some old favorites, like precious scraps of Kaffe Fassett designs, have insisted on being welcomed into the mix.
I’ll have more to share, soon.
Until then, I’m wondering about what you are “quilting” in your heart. Leave a comment, here, please, or email me… suesvoice@gmail.com
And, in case you’re wondering why I’m pondering quilts just now, that’s easy!
Quilts are about love and warmth and belonging. They’re about choosing what we’ll do with the bits of our lives… the stunningly gorgeous ones and the faded, scrappy ones, too.
In the end, quilts, like anniversaries, are about hope. And this world can use all of that we can make!
Which seems worth noticing… after I did the math earlier today and realized that the Legendary Husband and I have been married for half my life which feels like a miracle, given some of my early journey!
And, just in case you didn’t know… in the Jewish tradition, when a couple becomes engaged, they gather with friends and family and drink l’chaim… to life!
I’m for that! Now, more than ever!!!
ps… the beginnings of Kenzie’s big-girl quilt, hanging out on the couch, @2011.