Monday, October 12, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving, Canadian members!

I am not Canadian -- Thanksgiving is more than a month away for me down here in Pennsylvania -- but the fact that it's Thanksgiving for my northern neighbors got me thinking about some of the many reasons I became involved with, and remain committed to, Afghans for Afghans.

I am grateful that my daughter can go to school, and that this afternoon she will be playing soccer, and that she does not have to worry about being hurt because she wants an education and that she can dress in clothes that won't interfere with her ability to run and play her sport.

I am grateful that I am sitting in this house feeling really really cold because I'm trying not to turn on the heat. It's a choice! It's there when I want it, and I know that.

I am grateful that if my electricity goes out, I know it will be fixed quickly. And that it probably won't go out again tomorrow or the day after or every day for a month.

And I could go on. I can't imagine being a woman or a mother in Afghanistan right now -- honestly not knowing how you can keep your kid clothed, fed, and warm, and even, many days, whether you can realistically expect that kid to reach adulthood.

So I knit. Just to say to those women, or to that kid (for the many homeless ones -- a degree of bleakness that exceeds my understanding) that someone hopes you will be warm, and knows that you are there and believes things can be better. . .

--Elizabeth

4 comments:

Cathy said...

I agree wholeheartedly, Elizabeth. When I think of the opportunities I have as a woman in the US, I am truly thankful. I finished reading Half the Sky...about the oppression of women worldwide. In the time it takes to read your post, somewhere, a young woman has been forced into sexual slavery, undergone genital mutilation, been victim of a bride burning or developed an obstectrical fistula because of obstructed labor.

I knit...it's just 1 small way to show another that I care.

Jane said...

Amen, sisters. It's a small thing that we do, but I hope the recipients feel the love.

Joan said...

..."And so I knit". That simple phrase says it all. It expresses all that we feel as we choose a pattern and yarn and start the process of knitting or crocheting an item that will provide both warmth and love for its recepient.

GenKnit said...
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