Joyful joyful...

I’m two for two. 

I’m asked if I would do something and my answer is “Sure!  I can do that!” 

Then the panic sets in… uh oh, what have I just agreed to do?  The first time turned out pretty well because it was just a matter of figuring out some buttons on a website, and okay, I had some help with that.  This time… I’m a little worried.  Write about joy…

I looked for inspiration in some of my favorite quotes...

That's nice but it didn't apply.  Then I worried that I might be confusing “happiness” with “joy”... are you seeing why this was such a challenge for me?

In the end, it came down to this – what gives me joy are “life” moments, especially those I've experienced in the past year or so.  Some are quiet, some are big and noisy – those frequently seem to involve Rosie – and some are unexpected.  Many of those came from you.

When I started Miss Rosie's Quilt Co., I had a simple goal – to subsidize my quilting hobby.  I never imagined the grand adventure it would take me on – or the opportunities it would bring me.  While I will always treasure the friendships I've been fortunate to make along the way, two joys came along that I couldn't have foreseen, and for which I will be profoundly grateful.

First, it’s you.  Whether in person or via the amazing online community of quilters, I have loved being able to meet so many sweet, kind, funny, caring, generous, wonderful people.  I love the cards, notes, e-mails and pictures you send, and I am honored and deeply touched that you have let me be a part of your life.  That you sometimes choose a Rosie-pattern to make a wedding, graduation or baby gift is humbling… and yes, that brings me joy.    

The second "joy" was my Mom.  Many of you know that I lost my mother a few months ago and while I still get a little sad and miss her, I was truly blessed to be able to take care of her the past few years.  This "job" allowed me to do that, and you helped make that possible.  Being a caregiver was a choice, one I made freely and without regret.  And despite the occasional challenge, there were so many more joyful moments.   We talked, we reminisced and we laughed, especially about some of the indignities of growing old.  Like… why do I have a black hair growing on my ear?!  That’s just wrong.

As it was with my Dad several years ago, it was a gift to be there for my parents at the end of their lives just as they had been there for the beginning of mine.  It reminded me – and my amazing brother – that life goes on… that we all have sadness and sorrow in our lives but it is how we choose to accept it that creates who we are.  Everything in our life is a choice.  While we might not have any choice in what happens to us, how we choose to deal with it, and how we choose to live is.   

You also know about my sweet Rosie.  (That's her "Carrie is evil for making me wear this thing" expression.)  She too is getting old and her limitations have given her a heartbreakingly sweet vulnerability.  As it was with my Mom, there is so much joy in being able to take care of her and just be there for her. 

   

I am reminded that for all of us - two-legged and four-legged creatures - our spirit is our gift.  To ourselves and to others - and there is joy in knowing that some things don't change.  Rosie will always be a goof.

As for the rest, let it suffice to say that I have always been well and truly blessed.  I have a brother I adore – he is without a doubt the very best person I know – and dear friends that I know would bail me out of any jail in the middle of the night.  I have "work" that I love... though it always seems odd to call it that.  And I find extraordinary joy in the notion that "life" still holds infinite possibilities.     

What more do I need? 

Nope.  I don't even need George.

There's really only one more thing I can think of...

This is Figgy Pudding.  It's a Schnibble made with a wonderful Christmas collection by Polly and Laurie, Minick and Simpson.

That silly elf pictured above said to tell you that we'll be giving this away later over on La Vie En Rosie.  It could be at your house by December 24th.