Dearest Steph

The word thank you, although an excellent word, simply cannot express all that I feel about the love filled gift you gave me on Friday.  My dearest friend, every time I look at these lovely dream socks you made for me or think of them and all the thoughtfulness and intention, my eyes brim over with tears. And if I go back and read your post, well… I am just done in, done completely in, a veritable puddle with a heart so full it feels like it just might burst.
There is so much I love here from the color on, and what touches me the deepest is how they embody what we created, together every single stitch of it, but most especially the heart. The heart and soul...you and I.
Look what we have done Steph. I am so proud of the growth that we both had to go through in order to pull this off in the heart-filled, well-intentioned way we envisioned in the beginning. Not once did either one of us back down or give up. Not even when we were so exhausted or scared we did not know how to take that next step we did. We held each other up, supported and fed what was good and right and worked through and let go of what was not.
What I am even more proud of is that we stayed on track with each other. I thinks it speaks volumes about our friendship that it not only endured something so grand and powerful, but was deepened and enriched by it. All those things you said about me Steph are true about you. I love your strength, the strength that comes from an honest self awareness and willingness to grow especially in the middle of the fire. You are the sister of my heart and I am grateful beyond measure for you.  I am glad that you are safely home now with Joe and the girls but I miss you already.

I also have pictures of you and the Dream Sock.  Again us working together. Even though I had not a clue (and I do believe there were quite a few of these little clues) you would misplace your project bag with said dream sock and I would find it.  So funny.
I should have picked up on the distress when you kept misplacing them. I just thought it was how you were grounding yourself and now that I think on it it you were. You were grounding us both in those socks.  Holy shit woman, these are one powerful pair of socks.
That Barbara Walker and Judith and Anna and all of those wonderful knitters in our community adding stitches to these warms the cockles of my knitterly heart. That you asked them to do this for me and that you took the sock with us everywhere as a talisman of sorts, well that is the part that leaves me speechless.
As you know I am usually the one that does this sort of gifting and Steph not ever have I received a gift like this...not ever.  Just so cherished.

In class even though you are not knitting on it at the time it is there waiting patiently. We searched and searched and found it in the lost and found.

Yes I do also have a picture of you and sock at the opening night reception.

And the luminary panel.

And then at our retreat where everyone knit on them and I took photos of this and still did not catch on.  Seriously doubting my powers of observation here. Blaming the tired. Although I was a little suspicious and concerned a few times when I approached a group of our friends and it would get quiet. I just chalked it up to tired and sensitive.

I love that last picture in this row of you sitting there knitting happily away, you look so relaxed and peaceful.

dearest friend, partner in crime and sister of my heart,
Thank you. I like you a lot also!

p.s.  I think Betsy is wonderful too, love that Cat knit on dpn’s and that Lucy added her signature hole and that you and Anna got a long visit and that our lovely friends got to shine...just shine.