Beginnings

To release stress and center oneself, some people run. Others meditate. I choose embroidery.

I can get lost for hours in the rhythm of the stitches, the traveling floss, the sound of the needle punching through the fabric.

Punch up, pull (inhale), punch down, pull (exhale).

I was interested to see if the kids might feel a similar sense of peace, that space and time might blur in the needlework. So naturally, whenever I clapped my hands together and said, "Let's embroider!" I was met with blank faces and lots of "No!"

But with a little coaxing and much more, "Just try it," the kids took to this newfound hobby. Of course, there were a few--but, really, just a few--who announced, "Done!" after a minute of needlework, however, the majority of the kids wanted more. More time, more floss, and more words to complete.

So did their embroidery work stay on the quilt?

Ah, no.

I had to cut out and re-do what had been done by those little fingers. But it was a start. A beginning of so many things: the discovery of a hobby, pride in handwork, and, yes, even that familiar blur of time.

It was also the beginning of friendships.