There is no quilting blog this week. It’s the Fourth of July and I will be
celebrating (albeit quietly) this weekend.
I’m thankful for this nation and I’m thankful that for the most part,
most of our freedoms are still intact. I’m
thankful for the men and women and their families – past and present – who have
served our country. Some have paid the
ultimate price for our freedom. Others
are reminded daily of that cost.
We should never forget that or them.
I imagine I’m like a lot of you are – tired of this
election cycle, tired of the 24-hour news cycle and talking heads, and
bone-weary of the seeming incompetence of most of our elected officials and
those running for election. So let’s hit
a pause button on all of that this weekend.
Remember a band of men, who in 1775-ish decided that
this country was worth laying everything on the line. If the American Revolution had not gone well,
they would have been hung for treason.
So they met in secret; in hot, upstairs rooms in Philadelphia where they
hammered out a decree that would make us a nation. They wrote a declaration that we would be
free. And while it took a long time for
some of us to fully attain that freedom, we did get it.
Remember the groups of men who answered George
Washington’s call to arms. They left
their farms and families and businesses and became soldiers when they really knew
little to nothing about mustering out.
Bless them for their common sense (they fought from behind trees instead
of in firing lines like the British), their stamina, and their devotion to this
country. They withstood the freezing
weather, poor rations, and little to no pay in order for us to declare our
independence.
Remember that while we have often misinterpreted that
independence as freedom for some and not for all, we did change. It took more lives and more blood, but the
union held. Later, it took prison time
for some women to bring to the public’s attention that the female citizens did
not have the right to vote. We corrected
that, too.
So this weekend, be thankful -- thankful that we’re
still free. Thankful for our families,
friends, jobs, and the art that binds us together in a sisterhood of
stitches. Forget the talking heads on
the news shows and the gloom that is always pervasive in an election year. Turn off the TV, unplug the laptop, let the
batteries run down in your tablet. Enjoy
this Fourth of July.
For all its faults – and they’re many – this country is
still a pretty great place to live.
Love and Stitches,
Sherri
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