It’s been almost a year that I’ve been working at the yarn store in some sort of capacity. (I actually taught my first class ever on my birthday.) In that time, I’ve grown to love so many of the people that frequent the store. I think that is ultimately the reason that I decided to take over the store, I loved all of these people and I just couldn’t let go. They still needed this place and so did I.

I think the thing is that when your heart gets tangled up with all these people it becomes open to sharing their joy and their pain. It’s so exciting when someone brings in their new baby or comes to show me an engagement ring. But it’s also so devastating when someone comes in reeling from bad news.

I have a customer who has cancer. I hate cancer with every fiber in my being. I hate watching someone suffer and there be nothing that I can do about it. Some days she doesn’t even feel like knitting. It’s the scariest thing in the world and it is SO unfair.

Yesterday, another customer of mine lost her brand new grandson. He was born with tremendous birth defects and died in his mothers arms. I grieve today for a baby that I never knew, whose parents I never knew.

Things get messy when you allow others into your heart. But I think that’s really the joy of life, sharing it with others. I think I’m truly lucky to have the opportunity.