My Cheese has been moved!

Have you ever read the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" written by Spencer Johnson? I'm not normally into self help books but every once in awhile I have to pull this book off of the shelf and refresh. I purchased this book several years ago when my first child moved out of our home. She was a young 18 with not much experience on how hard life can get but very ambitious and so eager to be out on her own. Four years later I dusted the book off and re-read it three times when my youngest moved off to college. Now by no means does this book have all of the answers but it is a cute little parable about two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two small people named Hem and Haw and takes a couple of hours to read. The story describes the adventures of these two mice and two small people going through a maze to get to the cheese. The "Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life and the "Maze" is where you look for what you want. Well this month I am finding the need for the book to come back off of the shelf. My favorite local quilt store is closing their doors at the end of the month to take a new path. They will be operating business via their web store and taking it on the road to quilt shows and retreats.

The store is in a small quaint house with so much charm. You are always greeted with a friendly face and excitement. Lovely quilts hang on the walls to inspire you, beautiful fabrics to fondle and cookies and cold drinks in the kitchen. This is where I began to quilt, take classes and I have met some incredible ladies that have become my closest and dearest friends. Over the past several years we have experienced accomplishments together; we have lost loved ones, celebrated the new life of grandchildren, weddings of our children and held hands through divorces. Some of us travel together to quilt shows and some of us go on retreats together but when we are not together we are always excited to gather back together at this little house to share of the week gone by. The store has become our fort; our hideaway from everyday life, where we can relax, have girl talk and gather our composure to go back out and be the good women that we are. So this month as we have our last Girl Gang, our last P.M.S. (pizza, munchies & sewing), our last Simple Times and Knot meetings in this little house we reflect back on the good times we have shared as we bid farewell to this little house. Our groups will still get together in local libraries and homes but there is just something about letting go of four walls that hold so many memories, so much laughter. So I'm off to curl up on the couch with my favorite quilt and read this little book of mice and men and reflect back on the good that has come of all this and be prepared to wish my old friend Blossom a safe and happy adventure.

Reminiscing,
Sharon