Sabbath Calm

31 Days In October

New designs await me but I know I will often go back to the familiar.

Day 20-

Twenty days so far of recording the similarities between learning to knit and writing a novel. 

Today is the Sabbath and I am in need of calm. Some mornings I get up anxious about the day and when that happens I make a cup of camomile tea, clip on my knitting light, and take out my basket of stitches. The repetitive grabbing of the wool and pulling it around a needle lets my body relax.

I can find that calm with writing, as well. Here is a selection from the novel Rubato where I can give words to that feeling.

     Sunday started out rainy and did not improve. The gray enveloped the outline of the trees. Stevie watched the drizzle roll down the window in the music room. The houses across the street were blurry with raindrops. Cars lined both sides of the street indicating that most neighbors were home, not rushing off to work. Stevie smelled cinnamon and butter and wondered if her mother was making sweet rolls. The smell reminded her of days when she was home with her Dad. He made the store bought cinnamon rolls in a paper canister and she loved striking the container on the edge of the counter to hear it pop open. As the rolls baked they would sit up on barstools together and wait for the thirteen minutes to pass. They played Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who would get to spread the rich, white frosting.

    What would her Dad say about her life as a homicide detective? She could almost hear him say that she was not reaping enough dividends. Dividends were important to an investment broker. His dream for her would include security and safety—-so much for Daddy’s dreams.

    Angelika was humming in the kitchen. It would be time to go to church soon. For Stevie and her mother the early church service was renewing both spiritually and physically. She realized that hours had passed without her thinking of Judith’s case. Without her daily meditation, prayer, and church worship there would be little to balance the stark reality of her job. 

  Without a doubt writing and knitting can be frustrating. But there is also the grace of making something out of nothing which brings deep satisfaction and calm.

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