Granny Square Goodness

Recently I had two root canals. The first one required emergency work just before I flew (read: intense cabin pressure change) to a conference in Chicago, and the ensuing infection was hands-down the most painful week of my life. Even percocet wasn't enough to keep me from keening and rocking in agony for a few horrid days. Then, just as life was returning to tooth-related normal, another one bit the dust. I spent a fair amount of time on the couch during recovery, and this blanket is the result.

I wasn't sure if this blanket was postable material, really, since it's one of the few craft items I've kept upon completion. But I love how it turned out, and it's a nice reminder of one of the most memorable dharma talks I had from a Buddhist instructor (Godwin Samararatne, a Sri Lankan Vipassana instructor who taught me in Bodh Gaya). He said, "It is always important to recognize when you don't have a toothache." The idea being, of course, that a toothache can be incredibly painful when you're experiencing it, but that when you don't have one, it's easy to forget the pain.

There's a reminder of that lesson woven into this blanket. Perhaps it's ironic, then, that I've decided to hang onto it. Impermanence generally saturates my crafting; part of what I find most satisfying about making things is giving them away. In this case, however, the blanket isn't only a rainbow of granny square goodness. It's also a vibrant reminder that I don't have a toothache.