Mid-life Without the Crisis

It really isn't the destination, but the journey. May be cliche, but it's true.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Good Advice

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. - Helen Keller"

I went with my mom to visit some relatives on Monday. We were at my Aunt Rita's lovely country home and I noticed that a small cross-stitch I'd done for her was hanging in her kitchen. When asked if I did much cross-stitching now I explained that I always felt like I needed to be making something for someone else in order to work on cross-stitch projects. "No, no, no! You've got to do one for yourself."

Rita is a quilter. She makes quilts for her grand-daughters' graduations, for new babies, for charities, for auctions, you name it, she's made a quilt for it. I treasure a quilt that she, another aunt, and my grandmother made for a family reunion back in 1979.

Aunt Rita explained to me that she once had a similar outlook about her quilting - only making quilts for other people. But one day she realized that she should have samples of her handiwork in her own home, and now it is decorated with lovely quilts and quilted wall hangings.

So I'm taking my aunt's advice to heart and I'm going to cross-stitch the quote above to hang in my home office. It's a favorite and has hung on cork boards in my classrooms for years, but only in simple copied-from-a-book form. Now I'll have a nice cross-stitched version.

Unless you're the oldest person on the planet, I think it's safe to say that there are probably older, more experienced people around. Be sure to listen to your elders - you just might learn something.

2 comments:

Salzypat said...

Excellent quote. I'm glad you are going to listen to your elder (Aunt Rita) and make a cross-stitch for yourself.

Who teaches us that we are not worthy of doing nice things for ourselves? Sometimes when I do something I especially enjoy doing, there is always a slight nagging thought that I should be doing something more productive, less costly, helping others, etc.

Keep pointing out to us that we ARE worthy, no matter what age.

J.R. Davis said...

Thank you, Pat!