August 1, 2020

From Katie: “This block—my second—may not have seen me through quite as many highs and lows as my first block, but it did still see me through a lot! Some of that is because I took a bit more of a break while working on this one! But I moved house—found, bought, painted, and decorated the place—in the meantime! And for someone with a chronic illness/disability, that’s a big deal (but it also meant I was bedridden, ill, for weeks).

Like the last one, it’s painful to think what every single stitch represents, but I honor those lives changed and lost. And this time, though there’s still quite a bit of fear, I have more hope. My loved ones (and myself) are all fully vaccinated, and looking into boosters (#teampfizer). I can hug my grandma now. I’m allowing myself to (carefully) be around other vaxxed friends. I went to my first wedding since 2019 a couple weeks age, and I’m toying with the idea of traveling to visit my brother in London in the spring. Coming from someone who used to travel internationally once a year at the very minimum, this is a thrilling prospect (though mildly terrifying). If this last year and a half has taught us anything, it’s not to get too comfortable in making plans.

Yet, the quote by the incredible Chanel Miller that I included on my square rings true every single day:
’We are living at an intersection of deep fatigue and new beginnings.’

So here’s to getting rest and celebrating new opportunities!”