Cowgirl V: Storms of Life

   
 

 
 
The holidays are fast approaching and I am not ready!  Mentally I am ready, but physically-- no way!  I don't even have a shopping list yet and there is so much cleaning to get done!  The decorating will be simple as we have some repairs going on, but that's okay.




 


"C" and I have taken a long break from posting.  We both lost our moms early this summer after they both had suffered declining health the past few years.  Still, as they say--it is true--you are never really ready to lose them.  This past year I have been retired from my job and in many ways that has helped.  "C" is busier than ever at her law practice and has just moved back into her home after a leak last January that flooded the entire downstairs of her house.  She has been somewhat of a refugee living nomadically with friends, in a hotel for almost 8 months while her home was being restored--a difficult time.  Oh, and I almost forgot--a terrible tornado that wiped out many homes in her community and left a neighbor family grieving the loss of the father and two teenage daughters near "C"'s home, and caused minor damage to her property. It has been an exhausting year for her.




 

So how have I occupied myself since retiring?  I have rested a lot, spent time with my dogs and kitties at home, taught myself to crochet--kind of!  I have found that busy hands, a tactile, comforting yarn, mindless repetition is good for the soul --it calms my restless mind. When my mother was briefly in hospice care, I had my yarn and hook and could sit through the night with the comforting repetition to soothe and distract me. So far all I have produced are some rather crude dish cloths, but that is good enough.  Now I understand how women throughout the ages have found solace in mending, knitting, patching their lives back together, figuratively and literally.  How I wish my own mother could have discovered this as she struggled with anxious moments and would unconsciously sit and wring her hands.  Lord knows there is enough trouble in this world to trouble us all!






I've also joined the community of Instagram and spent quite a bit of time on Pinterest.  I have several projects to accomplish this year--getting my kitchen cabinets painted, some repairs that need to be done, choosing new flooring, rooms repainted, etc.  Whew--it is a bit overwhelming especially since I can't physically do it myself anymore.  I always loved new projects in the house, painting, wallpapering, but I need help now.  Pinterest is a gold mine for finding ideas if you haven't joined, I highly recommend it!




So, hopefully, tentatively --we are coming back to posting.  Life is fragile, the world is changing so fast and there is so much evil out there, but I refuse to give up hope. I'm working on a rant--Yes, this is a rant alert, but I thought it best to stick my toe in here gently before running readers off!

 * One last note to our friends out there --has a hobby or handwork helped in a therapeutic way to get you through a rough patch?


Comments

kath001 said…
Crafts are my therapy for the reasons you mentioned. I don't know how people keep watch over a a loved one's bedside without something in their hands. I'm sorry you had to learn that particular lesson. Hope you and C are both getting through.

Our intention was to do the floors at the same time as the kitchen or shortly thereafter. Now that we are in the middle of the kitchen process, I do not want to start another project right away. :) Too much chaos.

So glad to see your blog name in my list. Glad for the updates.

Happy Thanksgiving! (Hope reading that doesn't startle you as much as typing it did me! Too soon, too soon.) :)
November 18, 2014 at 11:44 PM
Sandra said…
Soooo nice to read something from you, V. I am so sorry that you and C have lost your mothers, but once again, you have had each other to learn on.

Love to you both. Sandy
November 20, 2014 at 10:26 AM
KathySue said…
Crafts are therapeutic for me even though I have little time to pursue them right now! They provide me with a finished product while so much of my time and energy seems to spin me in circles!
December 16, 2014 at 4:23 PM
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