I’m making lists and checking them a zillion times. I’m heading down rabbit holes when I really need to be concentrating. I’m going to have to treat this project like a job and have set hours to work on it or it’s never going to happen. It’s not happening sitting in the living room in the Big Red Chair with Mr. FixIt watching TV. I have a desk set up in the basement so I can sit there and work. Then, when I’ve finished the hours I will set aside to be productive, I can work on the quilt and other fun projects. I’m determined to do this because when it’s set up, I think it’s going to be fun!

When we went into town on Monday, my Aunt Rosie was weighing heavy on my heart. That made me think of the only aunt still living on my dad’s side. Even though she and I have been estranged for many years (not my choice), the hurt in the relationship still haunts me and I wonder about her. I found out through Find-a-Grave a few years ago that her husband, my dad’s baby brother, had passed away. His listing showed his headstone and where it was located. My aunt’s name and birth year were inscribed on the joint headstone. 

Since I have no connection with her now, and since they are very private people, I asked Mr. FixIt if he would mind if we go up to the cemetery to see if there was a new grave. There was not, but she has the most beautiful view from up there. She always told me she was going to be buried on top of the world, and that’s just about what it looks like. Then I remembered my in-laws from my first marriage are buried nearby, so we went off looking for them.

I have never been to their gravesite. I always thought they were buried in the cemetery by the park, but it turns out they’re at the cemetery we were in. It took some doing but we finally found them. I’ve never thought much about visiting cemeteries. I’ve done my share, but it feels different the older I get. It’s a reminder that I’ll be changing addresses at some point down the road and the directions are getting clearer.

What is it Robert Frost said in his epic poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening… “I have miles to go before I sleep.” Mr. Virgo thought he had miles to go and we know how that worked out. The thing is, there’s no guarantee this project will ever be completed. But, the pleasure is in the progress…not the destination. It’s the same with everything in life. It’s the journey. The journey is everything.

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“The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: “You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’ Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.””

Joshua 14:6-12 MSG