It looks like a picture of needlework, not some thoughts on relationships, right? And it is. I've shown a progress picture of this counted cross all year long as I've labored to finish it. And labor is has been. I have ripped it out too many times to count and then put the stitches back in again. The canvas is warped and in one or two places it has been snipped apart accidently and then carefully mended with the stitches. I've sworn I'd throw it away and never do counted cross again. And yet I always come back to it.
I saw this and knew this was what I wanted to give to John this year. I looked at those two birds and felt my heart move because that's how I feel when I lay in bed at night with my head on his chest. Safe, loved, protected.
I was talking to Meg the other day and realized this needlework could be a metaphor or analogy, or whatever it is called, for marriages, partnerships, people you live long-term with. Sometimes things seem to be going smoothly and then you run across a part that doesn't match up quite right, so you rip it out and re-stitch it so it matches better. Sometimes you cry over it. Sometimes words are said and make rips in the canvas or fabric and you have to carefully piece it back together again. Sometimes you want to trash the whole thing and never do it again.
Sunday John and I went shopping and we stopped on our way out of the store for ice cream cones. It is difficult to push a shopping cart full of things with one hand and eat an ice cream cone with the other, so he took one side of the cart handle and I took the other. We walked down the sidewalk pushing the cart, eating our cones, managing the turns and corners with very few words because...well, we know each other. I said to him--you know any two people who can push a cart together without struggles or directions have a pretty good relationship. This could be some kind analogy for marriage or something. Yes, my brain alway seems to be working on metaphors or analogies for our struggles in life. That way when someone has troubles perhaps I can offer some insight. This is who I am, I suppose.
In the end, if the relationship is worth fighting for, if the relationship is loving and not abusive, all the tears and frustrations are totally worth the effort. Good relationships of any kind are a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Oh...and I still have a ways to go before I finish this counted cross and here it is almost November! Yikes! Where did the year go?
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