Delay

"A delay is better than a disaster"
-Unknown

I spent the weekend waiting:

• for the final beads for Poinsettia to come in the mail, so I can begin knitting.
• for news of a dear friend's son and his ongoing battle to recover from brain surgery last week. (If you believe, please offer a prayer for Tyler; if you don't, offer hope)
  
• for my test knitter to finish up Sherwood.
• for the housing market to improve
• for the economy to settle
• for our next leader to be chosen
• for my grandson to open his eyes again (last two times we saw the young family, Conner slept through dinner - good for Mom & Dad, not so much for eager grandmas)

Delays are an inevitable part of life. We don't have to enjoy them, but we do have to understand and accept them. We fuss; we fret; we hope; we pray...

and not one bit of it changes the course of time.

So we wait.

• In hospital rooms.
• In churches.
• In homes.
• In businesses
• In schools.

And while we wait, we knit.

I used to sit on several community boards, and I always took my knitting to long monthly meetings. A fellow board member once asked me, "Do you have to do that during meetings?"

My response?

"You wouldn't like me much if I didn't."

Somehow the act of manipulating sticks and string calms my soul and grants me that which is sometimes all too rare and hard to come by:

Patience, purpose, and perspective.

Delay has something to teach us: about flexibility, about tolerance, about the fact that we are not the ones in charge.

About the true nature of our world and our proper place in the grand scheme of things.

The present moment hangs suspended between the past and future; we live between the dreaming and the coming true. Delay builds character. It tests us. It tempers us.

We can spend our lives fighting every delay in fear and frustration.

Or we can meet the challenge with reverence and respect for the past, grace for the present, and hope for the future.

We choose. And what we choose makes life an eternal surprise or an endless hell.

For us, and for all those who come into contact with us.

*****

Speaking of delay, remember this?


Suie is finishing up her test knit and I am pushing it this week, so Sherwood's long delayed release should be later this week, God willing.

Good news for those of you who have been patiently waiting.

My other priority for the week is to get Poinsettia far enough along to get the pattern out to Maria the wonder knitter by the weekend.

So what do I have to share with you, while we wait together?

How about a few pics of another upcoming Aperitif?

Diamond Girl (yes, from the Seals & Croft song - I just dated myself)



Yarn: Handmaiden Silk Twist in Stardust


And yes, this one has beads. But I still place it in the aperitif category because of the easily memorized and executed stitch pattern.

In the meantime, here's a final pic of my grandson Conner modeling his Sea Baby ensemble to tide you over.


Cute, huh? And his eyes are open!

All things come to those who wait.

Eventually...