Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall

Life can be very hard.  I've been making "Comfort" cuff bracelets.  Remember that box of scraps I found (click here if you don't remember)?  I'm using them -- and some of my billions of mother-of-pearl buttons, vintage embroidery floss, and old tiny flower beads from the 70s.  Oh yeah, I'm also using these old 1940s wood alphabet stamps for the letters.

It's been a rough couple of years at our house.  First, I inflicted myself with 35+ fractures to my lower left leg bone when I got on the trampoline with Chelsea and Keaton two years ago.  Yeah, I know - put the big "S" for "stupid" on my forehead.  Thankfully, it wasn't life or death, but it was a very long road of rehabilitation... still is. 

Life changing as that event was, our family's real trauma came at the end of January 2009.  We looked death square in the eye when my husband shocked us with the news that his MRI (for some numbness in his arm) showed a large tumor had eaten away part of his spine and he was ordered into our regional medical center for immediate neurosurgery.  I remember driving to the hospital and watching people as we drove by them.  They were happy.  They were smiling.  Life was going on as usual for them.  I wondered if I would ever be happy again.  I felt so isolated from the rest of the world.

Our story has a happy ending.  Although we dreaded the worst, his tumor turned out to be the best case scenario - considering it had eaten away one whole vertebrae and half of two others.  It was an aneurismal bone cyst and would not return once removed.  And so, it was removed and his spine was stabilized with a lot of hardware and synthetic vertebrae during eight hours of surgery.  We are lucky.  We only had to live the nightmare for a couple of days until we found out this thing was not going to take his life.  We were able to escape the unbearable agony.

Now I find myself thinking about the many, many people who can't escape the worst case scenario and must face uncertainty and sadness for a much longer period of time and for so many different reasons.

That's why I'm making these Comfort Cuffs for my Etsy shop.  I was ever so humbled and grateful as people who loved us offered to help with anything and everything.  There was such an outpouring of love it was overwhelming.  It was obvious people felt helpless and would do anything to support us during such a difficult time.  People made food - casseroles, cookies, breads.  Friends gave gift cards and money.  Flowers, gift baskets, and cards were delivered by the dozens.  At a time like this, people feel at a loss.  So I made these cuffs to be a physical reminder of love and encouragement.  Sewn from lovingly saved 30-70 year old scraps of fabric from feedsacks, quilts, aprons, dresses and more - they are like wrapping the person you love in a quilt straight from your heart.

I've made a few in a variety of colors.  Into every stitch I'm putting good wishes and prayers for every person who might wear one.  Life is a learning experience and part of that experience can be very painful.  Let's show our love for each other.

Be still sad heart and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life a little rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

                                      -Longfellow