Last April I got the brilliant idea to coordinate quilts for each of six children who had lost a parent and a family whose house burned down. The logistics of mailing instructions to people, the sheer volume of fabric, and trying to balance squares of varying sizes seemed irrelevant in my enthusiasm. But those details became acutely relevant as I put my shoulder to the sewing machine wheel. 

For weeks I wrote baby steps on my to do list, coaxing myself to tackle what was feeling like an unruly task. 

Gradually the job seemed less ominous. First the one for the oldest boy was sandwiched. Then the one for the middle son was ready to bind. I dragged my feet on piecing the Sunbonnet Sues, as one of the blocks was missing. I looked in every basket, and crawled under the cutting table. How could I tell the maker that I had misplaced it? 

Then as I ran out of excuses for starting the last quilt, someone brought the lost block back. She had borrowed it as an example. Whew! With renewed energy I arranged the Sues and Dresden Plates.

While none of the seven quilts are technically done, momentum is such that I know they will be. 

This is wedding season. Couples ere embarking on the ambitious undertaking of marriage, with little concern for the follow through. Their love after all is more than enough to fuel them, and the details will work themselves out. 

In a year or five some of them may be needing a push.

Amazingly, often a nudge arrives just when they hit empty. He smiles at the wisp of hair in her eyes before she remembers she was planning to smile first. She snuggles up when he is engrossed in the bills. Friends invite them for a cook out just as she is gazing at a bare refrigerator. Affection that had been lost shows up like a gift. 

While none of their marriages are technically done, the momentum is such that I hope they will be.