Recently I introduced two people to cross stitch. Cross stitch is something I really enjoy doing – something about making one stitch at a time, following a plan (a pattern), and turning all of those singular stitches into a larger, more cohesive image. First I taught my dear friend Jessie and, more recently I taught my sister.
I can’t help but feel like there is some significance with my latter pupil. You see, there once was a time when my sister and I did not spent time together. We had a tenuous relationship. There was a falling out, to put it mildly and to keep those private details indeed private – and we weren’t altogether very nice to each other. This spanned the length of a few years and during that time, I mourned the absence of my only sibling. I think she did the same.
Thankfully life presented us with opportunities to re-connect in recent years and we have made some great inroads back to each other.
Which brings me to the Women’s March, both last year’s triumphant moment in history to this year’s continuation of it. The irony is not lost on me that while we have a commander-in-chief who succeeds only in dividing our country, his presence has really helped to reunite the two divided lives of mine and my sister. We were already making our way back to each other, but when he-who-shall-not-be-named came on the scene, our journey back to each other really accelerated.
When I did the Women’s March in D.C. a year ago today, my sister was one of my biggest champions. When I participated in the Women’s March on Gettysburg yesterday, she remained one of my biggest champions. When our parents (whom I love but respectfully disagree with) avoid the topic or roll their eyes when I say I’m going to a march, my sister is the one to send me reassuring texts, to tell me she is proud of me. And that means the world to me.
This year for Christmas, my sis gave me a hot pink mug emblazoned with “Nevertheless, she persisted.” I cherish this mug, not just for its message, but for its symbolism. There was a time when I did not think our reuniting was possible, not for many years at least, and that mug is a reminder to me of how far we’ve come in being better sisters to each other.
*I have to share this – a dear friend gave me a book of cross-stitch patterns all inspired by signs from the Women’s March, Really Cross Stitch: For When You Just Want to Stab Something A Lot. I completed this winter-inspired (Game of Thrones!) cross-stitch and my sister is working on one from the book now. With her permission, I will share her completed work when it’s ready.