From dark to light

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A dear friend is enduring similar heartache to mine from earlier this year, a beloved diagnosed with a very serious illness. We chat regularly, having known each other since our England days. That's over two decades ago now, time slipping past at a rate I really don't want to analyze. But right now time is strange, how a year ago my brother-in-law was ailing, how at the beginning of this year he died, and now it's again November, but this year others are where my family was in 2022.

Right now my life is focused on writing my novel, still emerging at a rate that makes me wonder for how much longer will the plot keep barreling down Storytelling Hill. Till it's done I guess, or I hope. I'm nearly finished with youngest granddaughter's quilt top, will probably wrap that up tomorrow. We're going away this weekend to celebrate a birthday with our eldest, then will host my sister-in-law who is managing life without her husband. Traumas occasionally last a long time, sometimes they are fleeting and the aftermath lingers. When I chat with my friend, my updates are pretty innocuous, which both of us appreciate. She knows where my crew was a year ago, in a place no one wishes to be, but we don't always get to make those kinds of choices.

I didn't know what I wanted to write about today until the above photo appeared on my screensaver. That quilt was completed two years ago for my youngest grandchild, a light to dark to light Honeycomb Stars pattern from Rachel Hauser. It was a futzy thing, but turned out beautifully, and as I sat at my computer, wondering what I wanted to say in this post, today's title popped into my head. I found where the photo was on my PC, then pondered how our lives are steeped in hills and valleys, the good and the bad. Everybody experiences some level of heartache, no one is immune. My friend mentioned that she didn't want to bring up memories of my late brother-in-law, but I told her that a trial makes the sufferer more equipped to later lend support and show compassion. At least I try to make that my mindset when rocked to my core.

Right now I can breathe easily, but my heart goes out to others in need. I say prayers, send positive vibes, and keep a mind open to miracles because sometimes they happen. When the worst occurs, it is heartbreaking. Yet time keeps passing, because here we are on 14 November 2023, over two years since I photographed that quilt-in-the-making, almost a year after a death in my family. From dark to light, and light to dark; love is all the little triangles between the hexagons, keeping everything and everybody together. That's really all this life is about in my opinion.

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