Wiser on Wednesday - October 14, 2009

DESIDERATA
Max Ehrmann

(in the 1920s not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church"!)

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

This poem had a profound affect on me when I first saw it written on the side walls of a covered stairway leading to one of the dorms at Syracuse University. I carried a copy with me for years and when I couldn't find it one day, hand copied it from a friend's wall hanging (no Google - really there was a time! ;-) and eventually counted cross stitched it in order to always have it. Stitching it was wonderful (! ) as it was a way to recite it and memorize it and internalize it. Each row took about an hour or more to complete. It is the first piece that I ever charted and I cherish it as much for the work womanship as for the poem itself.

My 15 minutes of fame! -

On Page 6 of the "Mid-Atlantic Regional Connection" a newsletter for the Mocha Moms, Inc. I am mentioned ---alongside my daughter---for participating in a public awareness event for Infant Mortality. I am excited to have participated and to have been acknowledged as a Mocha "Mom-Mom" (smile). Thanks Daughter and Mochas for including me!

THE BACK STORY

Lately I have been trying to "find myself" as this stage of life is commonly called. Frankly I know exactly where I am! I am a very educated, talented, smart, funny African American woman of a "certain age" trying to make this time of life meaningful. It is not lost on me that people (my children) are watching how I handle and navigate this.

So one day my DD shoots me an email suggesting that I might be interested in a public awareness project on Infant Mortality. Certainly I thought, I could easily make the 10 hats requested and hopefully before I left on vacation. But as I was packing I decided to take yarn with me "just in case I had a moment". Well we know flying is about waiting these days and I had plenty of time! So my project went from making ten hats to "how many can I get made before the mailing deadline?" My DD says I was getting obsessed clearly she's right because I had to make myself stop at 70!

THE NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

Chapter Spotlights
Mocha Grandmother "Hats Off"

Almost 2 months ago Southern DC Mocha Claudia Booker sent out a Mocha SOS for the "Heads Up on Infant Mortality Public Awareness Project" for Wash-ington DC. She asked Mochas to knit or crochet in-fant hats. These hats would be given to the local hos-pital NICU’s. Mocha Claudia posted the request on the Yahoo Group to get the word out. [One Mocha] shared the request with her mother in [another state]...Last week Mocha Claudia received 70 beautiful infant hats ... As an added bonus, this Mocha Grandmother has decided to help head this project for the NICU babies in [her home state]! "HATS OFF" to Mocha Claudia for serving the "Head’s Up" project from the heart, to [our] Mocha for sharing her mom, [and ] for [her mom for] being [such] an angel for the NICU babies!

Nap Time...?

Last weekend I was tired! The kind of tired that you can't see or think straight. The kind of tired that makes you so loopy and out of it that you can't image why people do drugs, thus rendering themselves this way on purpose! Yes I was that tired! but I had stuff to do. The kind of stuff-to- do that has already gone undone for days ( who am I kidding - weeks) and must get done now. The kind of stuff-to-do that if it goes undone one more day it will make the impending week worst than the week past--which I might add--was bad enough!

Needing a nap made me remember how much I hated it when my mother sent me and my sisters upstairs, to our rooms to nap. No matter how we protested - no matter the logic ...she had an answer - they went something like this:

Me (or one of my sisters): None of my friends take naps!
Mommy: Well I'm not your friends' mother

Me (or one of my sisters): I'm not tired.
Mommy: then just lay there quietly;

Or my personal favorite - you don't have to go to sleep - seriously?

But like or not last weekend the overriding reality was that I needed a nap or more specifically someone (MOMMY!) to make me take one! And so I found myself longing for my mother to take over ; to shuffle me off to bed no matter my logic (but I have stuff-to-do) or protests (but who else will do it?) and MAKE me take a nap!

I'd rather be... QUILTING!!!

I have a friend of over twenty years who has been quilting for even longer than that! Over the years she has tried to entice me to take up quilting to no avail. It looked too tedious and time consuming. I was content with crocheting, counted cross stitch and sewing (by the way they are also quite tedious and time consuming...perspective is the key factor here)

A year and a half ago my friend retired and moved to Florida. As she began giving away things and packing and it became real that she was leaving I decided to take up quilting. Now it wasn't that clear of a decision at the time but looking back I guess it was a way to keep us close, to give us something to aways talk about (and to really keep her from going!)

the first attempt was a mess. I chose a pattern with curves, didn't know about marking each piece (now I remember why I never wanted to do it) and threw all the cloth and pieces in a bag!

My friend who even after twenty years really wanted me to quilt carved out time for lessons when I came down to visit (yes I brought all the fabric and needles and everything). We took our time to chose a pattern and she showed me how to make a template that included the sewing line so I wouldn't have to mark each piece after was cut. (that's the tedious part) Before I left her house I had two completed blocks!

I have found that I absolutely LOVE hand piecing. It gives me something to do (and something to show for my time) while I wait (I hate waiting). Between talking to my friend and clicking around on the Internet I have learned a lot about the quilting process. (for example the red lines in between are called "sashing"; piecing is what prairie women did as a "break" from canning; and no self respecting woman of that time would be caught without a top to quilt during the long winters!)

As life would have it I put the quilt down for a while. I had put the pieces and then the rows together and it had gotten too big to carry and pull out wherever I went. By the time I got home most nights pulling it out didn't seem wise and so it sat...month after month. I made a vow this pass spring ...the quilt top would be completed by the end of the summer... Ta DAH! it is TA DONE!!

My first quilt top is below. I am so pleased! Let me know what you think...

My first quilt top!! August 2009 YAY!!!

Another thing I've learned..this is just the "top". I have to put the "layers" together (top-batting-backing) and then the actual quilting is a whole 'nother process. I'll keep you posted on my progress...but for now we'll rejoice in this stage of it. YAY!! YIPPPEEE!