Finally the stillness and a night alone at home. Time to connect and do what makes my heart smile.
I am a lucky girl, I have a great husband and lots of sweet friends. I am social person so if I get a night home alone I usually fill it with someone I have not seen in a while. Well, last night my husband and first born went to see a movie. I am not a great movie-goer. I inherited this problem from my father. He could not see a movie if there was too much “human suffering.” Now, you must know I laughed at this in my youth and thought, “oh, it is only a movie, be flexible, toughen up.” Well, I have a long list of things that have become his words echoing in my mind and I now agree with them. If I could only invite him to dinner and thank him for warning me of these traits that a young person cannot comprehend. One day we will see each other again and I will thank him for the traits that we share.
That being said a WWI documentary was not something this girl could survive. So it is cold outside and I am home alone. The fire is popping and I stumble upon the channel that I had no idea existed. It is the “Hallmark channel.” Now I knew they played Christmas movies non-stop for the month of December. I had NO idea Valentine’s was another season of quick happy ending movies. Now this was really going to be a night for me to remember!!! I needed to make some bracelets and it has been months since I could sit down and make the space for Healing Knots. How life gets in the way of our favorite things I cannot understand.
SO I quickly run to my desk and start gathering the bracelet makings for a long ago ordered bracelet for my friend. She had lost her two dogs and wanted a bracelet to remember her furry babies. As I begin to make this order, I realize I have some people out there that might need a bracelet to get them through a new chapter. Some of my most faithful bracelet girls that have worn the first editions that are so cumbersome and tender I see them and I know I made them in week one of Healing Knots. I reach out to my sister-in-law in North Carolina. She has had a week. Her husband, Nate, had surgery and she has been managing the bedside vigil that comes with the waiting, watching and hoping the results show nothing serious. As I texted and asked if I could send her a new bracelet she responds with this text:
Here is the bracelet she was taking about:
It is like her friend was my angel that could be there with her in North Carolina while I was far away in Texas and that bracelet was able to go right back to Chris to give her back what she had given her friend. Now this is the full circle of these wooden beads that I cannot explain and that keep me coming back.
I quickly found this bead mix and whipped out a bracelet to get to Chris in Asheville. Her journey with Nate on this one is not over and she still needs to be held.
As I finished her bracelet I realized my dear friend Lisa had just celebrated a birthday on Friday. Oh, she was a faithful Healing Knots fan and maybe, just maybe she would want a new bracelet to celebrate her special day. I quickly sent a text, “Hey Dirt! (Remember she is my Dirt Sister from Alabama) do you need a new bracelet?”
Lisa is in California. Palo Alto to be exact. Oh, those special memories we shared back in the 80’s in Palo Alto are such treasures in my heart. Quickly a photo of this bracelet appears on my screen.
It is the same bracelet that Chris had sent me. So from Asheville, NC to Palo Alto, CA. Two people that I love so dearly, both on the same evening have the same bracelet that they need to replace. These are the moments I cannot explain. Tears roll down my face. First of all, I send out that silly question to people I love, “Do you need a new bracelet to get through this or to celebrate that?” I am ready for the day when someone says to me, “Now Corinne, I love you so much and know you love to make those things. But enough is enough. I have loved every one you have sent, but I am over it. You can rest.”
Truly, it will never hurt my feelings. I do not know why there is still something in these wooden beads and the knots I tie. I know it feeds something deep in my soul to make them. To put the colors together in a bowl and then see them come alive with the knots. I know it makes me remember that my brother pushed this creative outlet into my life to make it past the loss of his precious life. I know it keeps me connected to the wonder of each day and that we are all connected in our hearts forever. It gives me such deep moments of JOY that from coast to coast the same beads are holding people that I love.
In a world filled with so much stuff and so many choices.
Sometimes it is still the simple things that fill our hearts. Love and wonder are alive today. Go out and celebrate that today is a new day!