Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Peace...

Does anyone know the name of this pattern? This little pillow top was in a chair in my mother-in-law's home when we closed out her house. The lily pad and the flower are appliqued, and the rest is embroidery. It is so pretty, and so old looking to me. I washed it carefully, and I think is is lovely.

Did anyone just have a few moments of utter peace among the chaos? I had one such moment today. I was at work, nursing in the critical care unit. My patients had been fed, bathed, clean linens were on the beds, meds given, and they were peaceful, pain free and resting well. One of them looked up and smiled so big at me as I passed. The other was, at last, stable, with a reasonable blood pressure. The charting was done, no doctors were yelling orders down the hall, no alarms bells were sounding, no V-tach was impending. Just....peace. I felt this way for several minutes, and for the life of me couldn't think of the last time I had felt caught up like this. It lasted about 16 minutes, then it all hit the fan, if you know what I mean. But...for that little while, I felt more peace than I have felt in a long time.

Weird, huh?

Hope everyone is having a peaceful moment at some point today!!

JulieK

19 comments:

Paula said...

Every once in a while, one of those moments catch us. We just need to learn to enjoy them, don't we? They come so few, and far between.

BTW, my life has been touched by some wonderful nurses, and I know the difference a good one can make in a person's life. Thanks for being a caring nurse!

~Bren~ said...

I have never seen that pattern before but it is wonderful!

That specific peace you described is like no other..."peace that passes all understanding"...it only comes from God. He was smiling on you, probably an answer to the prayer of the smiling patient. You are an angel!

Libby said...

I love those moments . . . not just the calmness of them, but when you get that little signal (like a smile) that all is well. It really is just the simplest of things that make life grand *s*

Paula, the quilter said...

We could use a moment or two like that around here today. A tornado just hit not more that 10 miles from my house!!!

Unknown said...

That sounded so neat JulieK. Why, my DH is in the nursing home for rehab and I can see where even those nurses and aides wouldn't have many peaceful momemts like that. Your nursing was very good, then. How nice.

SuBee said...

Oh boy -- there's nothing like that particular brand of peace - it's deafening. Good for you for soaking it up! It's awfully easy in ICU/CCU to always be braced for the next crash and never notice the quiet minutes.

*karendianne. said...

Oh no, I don't think this is weird. I think its absolutely wonderful how you shared this.

Its a perfect example of being aware of your surroundings and living in the moment. Those Sixteen Minutes were yours, moments of grace from the Universe I do believe.

And they remind us all to look for them. Very cool. Again, thanks for sharing.

Aware with Love, *karendianne.

Betsy said...

please post the name when you find it. It is lovely.

Greenmare said...

that is a beautiful pillow.
glad you were able to feel your peace while it was happening. What a stressful job you have.

Leanne said...

There should be more of those moments but sadly in our ever increasing hectic lives there are less and less. Love the pillow.

Unknown said...

I love the pillow, but unfortunately do not know the name of the pattern.

I think that those moments of peace are absolutely wonderful! I occasionally have them too. You have to enjoy them while you are in them. You never know when they will come again. Have a great weekend!

Ginger Patches said...

That's a beautiful pillow! Sorry I can't help you with the name though :(

Annette said...

I think your pillow is just so beautiful!! What a lucky find.

Finn said...

Nope, not weird at all...well earned, well deserved and certainly appreciated by you. That's all the Universe requires of us *VBS*
And an awareness of special those moments truly are.
Lovely, lovely chair cushion. I'm not familiar with any name for it, but no doubt hand done. I think it has found a perfect home with you *VBS* Sending big hugs, Finnie

Nancy in MT said...

I have a pic of the entire quilt, don't ask me how I remember these obscure things when I can't remember what I ate last night, that particular block is the water lily, and is from an early thirties applique quilt. Peace, how we can let it slip thru our fingers when we don't stop to enjoy that moment. It can come so seldom. I'll email you the picture. This block is slightly different, more in that bright pink thirties shade, your pillow is much more stunning.

sewprimitive karen said...

That's a magical textile.

~Niki~ said...

I'd love to have you join us quilters on my new quilt blog. Get listed! http://justusquilters.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you over there. And spread the word, our goal is 200 by the end of 2008! hugs!
niki xoxo

Texan said...

listen, ............... ahhhhhhh yes that moment.......... they are the best aren't they!!!

YankeeQuilter said...

This is a water lily pattern that was published in a woman's magazine. I'll try and go through my notes and find it. You could either appliqué or color by crayon the design. You have a wonderful example of it.

So glad you got a few peaceful moments. When I go on my walks I like to stop and watch the lambs. I can almost feel the stress leaving my limbs.

Hexies, rainbow quilts and plaids!

Good morning to all!!!  Above is a hexagon, for English paper piecing.  My kitten Lucky has discovered them, and decided that they are great...