the quilting bee

every wednesday i go to a quilting bee at my local quilters guild.  i know it sounds so old fashioned but it is such good therapy.  i absolutely love it and even turned down a promotion at my job because i would have to give up my wednesdays at the guild.  i need these ladies and i feel sure they need me.  you see i am the baby of the group.  i'm 43 and i am the youngest member by 15 years.  the next youngest member is in her late 50's and our oldest member is 93.

when i joined the guild last year i was expecting to encounter all this wisdom and knowledge and grandmotherly love.  i expected these ladies to be founts of grace learned from a lifetime of trials and hardships and laughter and child rearing.  i expected to sit at their feet and glean from them everything i need to age gracefully.  i did find this but i also found that women are women no matter where you are or how old you are.

to a small degree i have found insecurities, pettiness, jealousy's, hurt feelings, loneliness, and greed.  how could this be.  how could these women not be everything i wanted them to be.  how could these ladies not have it all figured out by now.  i so wanted them to have all the answers but sadly they don't and they never will.    

to a bigger degree i have found love and acceptance for just who i am.  i have found ladies who love to laugh, tell jokes and argue about politics and the state of the world today.  i have found a community.  a community of women who still care and want what they do to matter.  they take pride in the work of their hands and love sharing that gift with others.  at 43 i have found a place where i belong. 

peaceful easy feeling

since last Sunday i have had this peaceful easy feeling.  yes i know thats an eagles song and i love me some eagles.   their words just perfectly describe what i'm feeling right now.  i am still exhausted from the women's retreat but its a physical exhaustion and not a mental one.  normally i feel completely rung out after retreat but this year was different.  not sure why and i'm not gonna question it too much.  i'm just gonna enjoy this peace and thank God for all he did in my heart and the hearts of my sisters this past weekend.