The header photo today is my beautiful, calming autumn quilt made from all five inch squares. I especially love it, since fall colors are my favorite. And the quilting is with copper metallic thread. I love experimenting in this way with my sewing machine while quilting. I sewed across the squares, so when you look closely, each square has an “X” through them. There are some appliqued leaves on it, too.
Quilting makes me very calm. I’m pretty calm most of the time. Unfortunately, I have shown my temper a few times when someone is intent on hurting me or someone I love. Once the trust leaves, we’re over. Friends, if I’ve had it with you, we’re done. I need to refine moving boundaries, but for now, I’ll retreat and be happy with the outcome. We’re all a work in progress, aren’t we?
Traditionally, I’ve always been pretty calm in emergencies. I assess, do what’s necessary, support everyone else around, then after the crisis is over, I fall apart. It’s been hard sometimes to find folks to help you then, but now I have the Babe. He gets what we both need. Often, folks think because it’s over, it’s really over. We are all different from how we process events. Just because someone seems calm, doesn’t mean they don’t need a shoulder to lean on later. Think of those calm people in your lives. Maybe they “need” sometimes, too.
Sometimes, all we need is a hand to make it clear to the top. Sometimes it’s not even enough to notice. But with a hand once in a while, we can all feel better. More serene. The first time I every thought about the word serene usually had to do with something in our Catholic Church Parish. It had beautiful artwork, as most old churches do. I always thought of the Blessed Virgin Mary when contemplating “serene.” And our beautiful Grandma Jewell. I swear, I never remember her being angry about anything. Yes, she is still my hero, my role model. She always spoke well of people, and always reminded us to be happy about what we have. She loved little children and babies.
Now, the total opposite of serenity, of course, is Seinfeld character, George Costanza (Jason Alexander), and his wacky father, Frank, played by Jerry Stiller. Serenity NOW! Yes, he was always over the top. The Mom was a hoot, too. The show about nothing was really a show about everything. In getting a link for this, I got pretty distracted by the examples and had a good laugh or two.
What do you think when you envision serenity? My oldest son loved to fish when he was a kid. He had patience to sit and wait to get a bite. Fishermen are usually patient people. Quiet people. Quilting and writing make me serene. So does rocking a baby to sleep. It’s been a very long time since I did that. The memory of it makes me smile. The longer you live, hopefully you can recall many serene moments. Prayer. Meditation. Church. It can all affect you in a good way like that. I have memories of entering our Church at St. Bridget’s when I was a kid during the heat of July and August. It was an enormous church, probably held three to four hundred people. Before they had air conditioning, they may cut back on lighting during the day. The church had plenty of stained glass windows, and you could see your way around. There was a hush that came over me when I’d enter. It was quiet since they taught us not to talk in Church at all. A whisper was about it. I think you could feel God in the place at quiet times like that. It’s a wonderful memory for me. I still can’t get used to talking out loud in church. These photos are NOT my childhood church, but they emit the same feeling I used to get as a kid. Majestic House of God.
Take some time today for serenity for yourself. Learn how to create it, even if for only a few minutes to center yourself and put your mind back at ease. It takes practice, and you’ll become good at it before you realize it. Thank you for reading. I hope to see you again tomorrow. Be Safe out there. Be Kind. Be Courteous.
Kathy Raabe 