Nine years feels like a very long time, and in all reality, I guess it is. It's been that long since I tentatively created A Quilter's Table, hoping someone would find it, and connections would be made. Thankfully, that happened, along with a whole bunch of stuff I didn't foresee. And if I had foreseen it all? I just might have been too timid to try. But something convinced me - I think even at that point it was you all - and I really can't be more grateful.
Folks who haven't joined in our online community really can't fathom, I guess, what it all means. How one can be encouraged and inspired and even motivated by a community, most of whom they have never even met.... you know, 'in real life'. After all this time, the sense of belonging is tangible, and I have come to realize that our community is about as 'real life' as it gets. We spend time together, don't we? We share bits and pieces of our lives. We celebrate together and mourn together. It's all so very real.
If there's a caution to be had, I think it might be that sometimes things seem a little too glossy. Like maybe my - and your - sharing project after project might make it seem like life is all rosy all of the time. Yet we definitely know that that isn't true for any of us. And somehow it seems that spending all these years together has helped us understand that too, and thrive in spite of it.
So all that to say I Appreciate You! Your presence here - whether for years or days - has meant so much to me. You've given me a satisfyingly safe spot to retreat to, to speak from, to share a part of me that feels meaningful to share. Seriously, it means so much. Thank you.
