To quiet the riot

Staying at a hotel can be fun and even feel a bit glamorous……when you’re on vacation. But not so much when you’re in the middle of uprooting your life and moving your entire household. For the second time in a year. Overseas. After about two days, well quite frankly, hotel living gets old. And tiresome. Oh, and did I mention tedious?

I admit it; all our nerves are frazzled. And although we work very hard to keep a sense of humor and our wits about us, sometimes – with stress and tensions running high – we can be, shall I say, short-tempered with one another?

A little while ago the boys wanted to go swimming so I sent them to the pool, and I gave myself a “time-out.” Time to regroup, to try to relax, unplug and unwind. De-stress. I reached for a small quilt I have here with me in the hotel room that needed the binding and sleeve sewn in time for Quilt Iowa next month, and I began stitching. No television, no music, no cell phone, no distractions. Just quiet.

It was just what I needed to do during this highly stressful period in our lives. And as I stitched, I let my mind wander and work its way through all the difficult stuff which has grown from drips and drabs into a riot in my head. Stressful, anxious thoughts turned to pensive thoughts, which turned to thoughts about the past year and a half, which turned into just one question, “What have I learned through all of this?”

Here are a few things I can sum up:

• I learned our family has in many ways become stronger and has drawn closer together.
• I learned to trust my first impressions and my first instincts rather than rely on second chances.
• I learned honest to goodness, true-blue friends are not only nice to have, but essential to enjoying a happy life. And I appreciate those true friends even more than I did before.
• I learned I need to Let Go and Let God. (Okay, I’m still learning this one...)
• I learned how to be even more supportive as a wife when my husband goes through difficulties and long, long, long hours at work.
• I learned to laugh more and stop sweating the small stuff. Even in tough times. Like now. (Hint to self…)
• I learned sometimes bad things unfortunately happen to good people. And there are some bad people in this world who you just need to deal with, dismiss, and move on.
• I learned to wait and see.

My time-out is over, the binding and sleeve are finished, and the boys have returned to the room all smiles from swimming. The riot in my mind is calm now. Oh, and I also learned this:

• The cost of a package of needles and spool of thread: $4.37. The value of an hour spent stitching and working out the worries of the world: Priceless.