If you’re a mere babe of 50 or so, you can probably skip this. 60+? You may share my sentiments. I think it’s time to turn off the news now. Too many stories are talking about what was going on forty years ago. How could any of us be forty years older?

When my brother and I spend time together, we fall into the habit of examining the crazy quilt that is our family history. Unlike many quilts, constructed by carefully replicating a set pattern, a crazy quilt consists of oddly shaped blocks, arranged in a pattern that springs out of the quilter’s own thoughts. Our family history is like that.

I wrote this piece during a particularly trying summer with no real vacation. The fortuitous appearance of this porch reminded me of the importance of creating pockets of peace in our lives.