To be thankful

I have so much to be thankful for. Family. Friends. A well paying and steady job for both my husband and myself. Two wonderful children. And the health of those I hold dear.

Sometime last year I watched the movie "Julie & Julia" and, being the geek that I am, was intrigued with the idea of blogging about a project. However, I also know enough about myself that I'm a terrible blogger. I've tried, a couple of times already and have never kept it up. I come up with topics and think about writing while driving, in the shower, etc, but never end up actually inputting them.

Fast forward several months to Spring of this year, I met Pam Haschke, Founder of Halos of Hope. I was touched by her story, but mostly I was touched by her attitude and spirit. I thought I'd make a hat. And then I made another, and another. Then I thought, why not set a goal? Make two hats a month, seemed doable enough.

I then thought I'd start a group on Ravelry, I thought simply ”I’m doing this challenge maybe I could inspire someone to join me.” I was thinking along the lines of the old Herbal Essence shampoo commercials (if I tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on…). I thought if there were a couple more hats made for Halos of Hope or another cancer center I would feel really good about doing just that little bit more.

What I didn’t count on was the bucket loads of inspiration that I receive back from the wonderful conversations with an amazing group of women. We share stories, post 'show-and-tell' pictures, and add pattern links. There are several in the group that create far more than two hats a month and they've pushed me (unknowingly) to do more. I have already completed the 24 hats I had planned for the entire project. How awesome is that!

I'm very thankful for my project. While making hats doesn't make me a better person, it does allow me to find a better part within myself to share with others.