The big day of my daughter’s wedding has arrived and I find myself awake to early and contemplating recent losses among family and friends. (I am the maudlin sort, aren’t I?)
A quilting friend mentioned the return of “normal” after a loved one dies. It hit me that “normal” never returns, there will always be something missing. We have to find a new normal to keep us moving on.
When someone is gone from our lives, it’s like they cut a block out of our quilt, and we are left with a big hole where that person should be. We bind off the edges and try to make the quilt functional. And we adjust to the cool breezes that sometimes brush over our hearts.
But today I get to add a new block to my quilt. Today I gain a son-in-law, and he brings with him his parents and sister into our already large family circle. Four new blocks in my life, starting a new row.
The quilt grows longer. The holes still remain. But if I curl up near the new rows I continue to be warm.
And so goes life. We don’t use the new blocks to replace or mend the old, those holes are as important as the sashing that keeps our lives together. That keeps the rest of the blocks from falling apart. We give the new blocks a place of their own. We sit back and enjoy the difference their pattern makes in our quilt. And when we can, we give gratitude for all the blocks, the new, old and missing.
On this day of new beginnings I wish you rows and rows of new blocks in your quilt, and offer a needle and thread to bind off where needed.
May your lives be as blessed and rich as mine.
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Comments: 6
such rich truth here...but no matter the bright side, there always lingers the cold shadow of pain.
Congrats to your daughter on the very huge accomplishment of her marriage. My son is a junior in college and my daughter leaves next month. Amazing how time has flown since we first knew each other here in 06.