Rather than bore you with the details of me coming face to face with the realities of The Fall
of how I spent part of my afternoon yesterday visiting a dear friend just diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and part of my evening hugging a friend who had just lost her husband
of how afterwards I sent David to pick up Chinese (comfort food) and how in the middle of dinner I could no longer keep putting sweet and sour pork in my mouth
of how then I broke down and sobbed a bit
of how Savannah put down her fork and rubbed my back
of how the children were gentle with me the rest of the night, patting me lightly on the shoulder whenever we met in the hall
and, of how this morning after everyone was off I got back in bed and had another good crying jag,
rather than all that, I am sending in a substitute.
If this were a normal week, I would tell you how I finished my center medallion for this year's round robin project. And how I was only 26 days late finishing it, but who's counting.
I would tell you how I had a long overdue conversation (the truth is I've been avoiding it) with Berni about our summer vacation to British Columbia and how perfect the beach was and how we ate hotdogs over beach campfires and rode our bikes in search of sand dollars. I'd ask her how she thought kid's quilt retreat went and if she had any plans for the fall. And then I'd carefully broach the tender subject of her recent separation from O'Dell and see if she was any closer to forgiving me.
And I'd tell you about round robin itself and how it's just about the most exciting thing in the world to get a quilt in the mail, that's made with bits of fabric from your aunts and cousins and sister-in-law and how I'm lucky enough to know these women and have their art in my home.
And I'm sure I'd point out how I went way out of my color comfort zone and picked the exact same colors for my quilt this year as I have for the last four years. I'm wild like that.
And knowing me, I'm sure I'd note how I didn't lose a single point on my Corn and Beans blocks and how I really am a wonder and a domestic goddess and more amazing than even you had imagined.
And how I wish that this was, in fact, a normal week. And how a week ago, none of my friends' lives had changed. And how when The Fall seems too hard to endure, a little creation, a little order out of chaos, a little rebellion against entropy, is just the thing to make you feel a little better.