There is a wad of fabric on my floor. It is the result of three hours of cutting, piecing, ironing and admittedly, some ripping. The design is called bargello, and creates motion through the undulation of rectangles. You start out with strips, which can vary in width- though they need to be straight- and sew them together like the boards on a picket fence. The trick is that you attach the first one to the last, creating a big loop. 

Have I lost you yet?

The image is clear in my mind, and as a matter of fact, on the internet. But the actual pile currently on the rug looks confusing. I have made this pattern before a dozen times, so am not plagued by doubt that it will in the end be beautiful. It will. I trust the fabric, and the magic of the design. 

There are moments when I want to snap a picture and send it to the person it is for. But I wonder if she will be able to see past the confusion. It is en route to being a quilt but is not there yet. 

I was listening to a woman who is distressed about her child. She spoke about the tussles over clothes, and teasing. Wanting attention is fine but why settle for the negative kind? Her pain is not unique. Although the Bible does not give any hint of how Eve felt about her son's behavior, sibling rivalry has been around a long time. 

I remember a moment standing in my kitchen, maybe eight years into my career of mothering, gobsmacked that I had somehow ended up as a referee instead. I didn't want to be a referee. I couldn't find the rule book anyway, and no one was winning, especially the kids. 

But a quarter of a century later the pair of boys who could not keep from whacking each other are getting together next month. The older one and his wife are coming so she can run a marathon and the younger one and his wife will cook on the grill. 

It is not even the end yet, and their relationship is already beautiful.