Surprised again!

I've been surprised again by my 23 year old daughter, who transplanted herself to live in New York city this year.  She is an amazing young woman who has courage that I wish I'd had at her age. At 23, I was lacking confidence in myself, unsure what I wanted to do other than be a good wife and a good mother (both tremendously challenging and important roles). I doubt I would have even considered travelling anywhere alone, much less move across the country alone. 

I read her latest blog entry today and cried. She credits her father as being the rock from which she launched herself--who has helped her, basically, to fly. 

He is my rock also, but in a different way. He helps me stay connected, "grounded" if you will. He calms me when I overreact--which is less often these days. We married when I was 17 and he was 19. We overcame the odds and have managed to stay together 36 years--through moves to two other states and the births and raising of our three beautiful kids. He completed a PhD, and after I turned 40, I went back to college and completed through to a Master's. Many people predicted I wouldn't even finish my high school years! 

I have two sons also. They are a testament to the goodness of their father's nurturing. Both are kind, gentle, intelligent men like their Dad. They are witty, interesting and talented in so many ways.

Why a blog, now? My closely knit little family is dealing with the stress of cancer. My husband has prostate cancer and, while it is an early diagnosis and his prognosis is good, we are all shaken. 

When I am trying to process something or am anxious, my friends will tell you, I organize. I sort, arrange, weed out and generally obsess. This time, though, I find myself quilting. And quilting. And quilting. It's as though I need to create comfort for others to comfort myself. I am enjoying myself, and I can stop whenever I need or want to stop, so it is a healthy way to self soothe.  So I quilt. And I pray.