Happy New Year! I gave up making new year’s resolutions many years
ago, for the simple reason, and I don’t think I am alone, that after a few days
most of the resolve to keep the resolutions has gone out the window!
And I don’t have any big plans for 2021 either! The older I have
grown, the more I realise how fragile life is, and living one day at a time definitely
seems to be the best way for me to tackle life now. I have plenty of dreams and
aspirations, but my life is in God’s hands and so I trust Him to direct my
steps each day.
Within your heart you can make plans for your
future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there. Proverbs 16:9 (Passion translation).
In the past, I have refrained from publicly sharing my personal situation, but it seems the right
time now to explain why it is so necessary for me to live just one day at a time. My brilliant, clever, quick-witted, wonderful
husband - gifted lecturer, College principal, author, preacher, who has given
his life in Christian service to others - the love of my life for 54¾ years, has
dementia.
I’ve been through all the emotions imaginable over the last four or five years – the heartbreak of knowing that the man you married no longer exists, the grief
of seeing a brilliant mind reduced to not even a shadow of what it was, the
frustration that he cannot remember that he had a meal two minutes earlier, the
distress of his now more frequent asking where Val is, or asking me to phone his wife, and the tension
of trying to find diversional tactics so that he will not get agitated and upset when I
cannot fulfil the impossible requests he makes, like his urgent plea for me to “take
him to his home” while he waits in the comfortable house that we have called
home for ten years.
I hope that helps in understanding why my craft output is so much
reduced these days and my blog posts have been scarce!
I should add that, while hubby is eligible to enter a facility with full nursing care, it is my choice to care for him 24/7 at home while I am able. I am ever so thankful for our wonderful Australian government that gives support in the form of a Home Care Package with help with showering, vacuuming, mopping and mowing. We are blessed to live in Australia!
I am thankful that most nights I can still sit in my recliner and do some stitching. Being creative is so soul-restoring after a hard day! Small designs are much more attainable for me than big quilts, so over the
last couple of years, in between other bits and pieces, I have been putting together some sweet little patterns. It has now come together as a wall-hanging which I have called "Gentle Gems", and I am able to present it as my 2021 monthly project.
The plan is to release the patterns on the second Sunday of the month - so it all begins next Sunday, January 10th.
It is designed to use up your scraps, is full of applique and embroidery, it’s
portable – no sewing machine required – and maybe you will learn a few new
stitches. Make sure you come back next week to see the full design!
Warm regards
Val
