Carole Knits

october zinnia
october zinnia
martinis with a view
martinis with a view
gettysburg fence for
gettysburg fence for
germinate shawl on rocks
germinate shawl on rocks
field of flags 2
field of flags 2
color affection with edge
color affection with edge
cedar leaf shawlette 2
cedar leaf shawlette 2
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3_27_2014
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Three On Thursday

November 8, 2018 By Carole

Last week I signed up for Michelle GD’s Gratitude Week. Let me just tell you, it’s been a tough week when it comes to gratitude. In fact, one of the first things I did on Monday morning was to email Michelle. I asked her, point blank, “how do you find gratitude when you can’t get past the pain?”

Those of you who follow Michelle won’t be surprised at all to learn that she answered me eloquently and beautifully, giving me permission to do only what is right for me. Her suggestions were wonderful and heartfelt and her email was like a balm to my wounded soul. With her help (and yours) I have found some things to be grateful for this week. There are, surprisingly, more than three but I’m just going to share three here today.

  1. I’m grateful for the support of family and friends, those I know and those I’ve never even meet. The outpouring of kindness and love for us over losing Mason has been incredible. I know it’s partly because most people can relate to losing a pet and partly because I’m a writer and I use my words to process my feelings and then share those words on this blog, but I am still overwhelmed at how many comments and emails and messages I have received since sharing the news about Mason’s death.
  2. I’m grateful that Mason died on a Sunday when Dale and I were both home. I’m grateful that I had all day Friday and Saturday with him, that he spent time cuddled in my lap, that I showered him with love, that I petted him and talked to him and cared for him. And I didn’t do any of that because I thought he was going to die in a couple of days. I did all of that because that’s how I always was with him. I’m grateful that his death was a natural experience and not an accident (I spent a lot of time these last 17 years worrying about him sneaking out of this house and getting lost or hurt), or a debilitating illness that forced us to euthanize him. I’m grateful for our wonderful vet and the conversation I had with her on Monday. Her reassurance that nothing we did or didn’t do would have changed the outcome for Mason eased a lot of my feelings of guilt.
  3. I’m grateful for this grief. I’m weepy and sad but I’m grateful for my broken heart because it means I opened it up and accepted the love of a remarkable cat. I remember the day I brought him home. He was just a tiny thing and he rode on my shoulder in the car and we bonded during that car ride and I was overjoyed. But I also recognized that I was taking on a responsibility to care for this cat, that I was assuming a burden that at times might feel overwhelming, and that one day this little creature could break my heart. I’m so grateful that day came after many many years of providing him with a loving and wonderful home. I choose to be grateful for this grief because it’s a gift to love an animal the way that I loved him.

And there you have it. Gratitude and grief, inexplicably and inherently intertwined in my heart this week. It’s not easy but it’s life right now.

If you wrote a post for today I hope you’ll share you link below. Thanks for playing along.

An InLinkz Link-up


Filed Under: Thankfulness, Three Things

Sometimes Mondays

September 24, 2018 By Carole

Are about embracing the change of seasons.

Yesterday I ruthlessly pulled out the geraniums and planted mums and ornamental peppers in the window boxes. (I left the lobelia because it finally looks good after struggling all summer.) I switched out the wreath on the front door. And I mentally welcomed autumn. I’m a summer girl and this is not an easy thing for me to do but I’m a big believer in accepting things we can’t change and I can’t change the fact that the seasons have changed – whether I like it or not.

Maybe sometimes Mondays are about accepting where we are.

Filed Under: Thankfulness, That's Life

Three On Thursday: The Thanksgiving One 22/30

November 23, 2017 By Carole

In keeping with the holiday and the fact that it’s Thursday, here are three things I’m grateful for on this day.

  1. Family. Dale is my husband and partner in everything I do and I’m so grateful to have him by my side. Our kids are the light of my life, they bring me joy and I love spending time with them. And then we have those grandkids, Jackie has connected us as a family in a truly special way. This year I’m especially grateful for my amazing father-in-law, Jack. We came so close to losing him this summer that I’m extra appreciative of the wisdom and guidance he always provides.
  2. Friends. I’ve got the best friends ever. Seriously, girlfriends for life, like Doreen, and girlfriends that came along later, like Jo-Ann. Plus my knitting friends and work friends and Kiwanis friends and friends in our community. It’s a big circle and I’m so glad to be part of it.
  3. All the rest: my home and my health, meaningful work, pets and gardens and bloggers, a comfortable bed to climb into every night, books to read, yarn for knitting, and the fact that I’m living a life that feels incredibly blessed and authentic.

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful and delicious Thanksgiving!

An InLinkz Link-up


Filed Under: Thankfulness, Three Things

Thanksgiving 2013

November 28, 2013 By Carole

happy thanksgiving for carole knits

Today as a nation we will celebrate Thanksgiving officially for the 150th time. Up until 1863 Thanksgiving had been celebrated in some states, but not others, and on different days. Thanks primarily to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation on October 3, 1863 declaring the last Thursday of November should be henceforward set aside as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.

And so, today, across this country, family and friends will gather and feast and give thanks. I know in my house we will be remembering the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, and as we count our blessings we will also be giving thanks for Honest Abe and the things he did that shaped our country.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed Under: Thankfulness, That's Life

A Little Christmas Letter

December 20, 2012 By Carole

Dear Friends,

I am swamped. Between the wrapping and the baking and the shopping and the socializing, the working and the gmail migrating and on and on, well, there just isn’t much time for blogging.  On top of the general busy-ness, there has been drama. I was truly emotionally overwhelmed by some really crappy stuff that happened to my wonderful husband over the last month but I will say that the horrific events in Connecticut last week put some perspective on what’s tolerable and what’s not. And I will also say that things are much better, which is probably the only reason I can even make reference to it now. We have made some pretty good lemonade out of some really rotten lemons and I am so grateful for our ability to come through this relatively unscathed. I do need some vodka in that lemonade, though, or maybe I should just make lemontinis and be done with it.

The bottom line, though, is this: it’s Christmastime and, in spite of the busy and the crappy, I’m finding a silver lining. I’m holding my family close and I’m remembering what’s important in this world and I’m grateful for everything and everyone in my life.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 6 pounds of Swedish meatballs to prepare. Ahem.

 

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Filed Under: Thankfulness, That's Life

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