Baby granddaughter has been sick. Today was the worst for her. She had a fever, would not eat or drink most of the day. All she wanted was for me to hold her. Non-stop. And I was glad to hold her.

Not just because she is my granddaughter, but growing up when I fell down or didn’t feel well, I remember running to mother who held me on her lap until I was ‘all better’, and it helped.

So many times in life there are things, situations, feelings, emotions we don’t understand or know how to deal with…just like my granddaughter. She didn’t know what she needed. She knew she didn’t feel good and only wanted the closeness of a loving person to cling to for comfort.

We as adults are really the same way. We need closeness and attention of others especially in difficult times. The lack of human touch has crippled too many lives so they cannot feel love and therefore cannot give love.

Rather than looking for someone to hug you, go find someone who needs to be hugged and let that hug comfort you. There is enough loss, heartache and loneliness from babies to the elderly. All it takes to solve it is two arms (yours or mine) and a listening ear.

We cannot let fear of ‘catching something from somebody else’ hold us back. A sterile life is just that. Sterile! Nothing will come of it!

Look for ways you can hold others and begin. It just might change your life too.

Quality workmanship, quality product, quality service. What does it mean? What should it mean?

Today a one yard piece of ‘Big Ten’ flannel came across my desk. Trademarked fabrics always cost more per yard. This one was over 14.00 per yard. I’ve worked in independent quilt shops and know good fabric and good service. The fabric mentioned above was exactly 36″ stretched tight! No room for error. The quilt shop always allowed an inch or two more ‘just to make sure’ it was cut long enough for the customer. The flannel piece mentioned had 4 noticeable printing imperfections that would show up to anyone no matter how it was cut. How could you make a gift for someone from it?

The quality investment had been lost.

1. The fabric was inferior quality
2. The price was too high for the quality
3. The printing was inferior quality
4. The yardage cut was minimal
5. The manufacturer shipped inferior quality fabric
6. No one inspected it carefully enough to say, ‘this piece is not worth someone’s money’
7. The seller knowingly sold inferior quality fabric

Now the buyer has been forced to either keep it anyway, or go through an inconvenient return process. The buyer has to either reorder from someone else or plan a new gift idea.

1. Time and money were lost because the quality was lost.
2. Trust is lost. That company will not be purchased from again.
3. Resources were wasted by making an inferior product that will probably be discarded.

Let’s hold ourselves to high standards, doing the best work we can using the best materials available rather than make something inferior.

Not only will we raise the bar for ourselves, but it will raise the bar for others.

Quality. What does it mean to you?

Another life lesson learned on the beach last week. If I stood in the same place for a while, soon the waves would wash the sand right out from under my feet, my footing would become uneven and unstable, but if I kept my feet moving there was no problem walking.

The ocean is constantly moving and so must we. If we stay in the same place too long, trying to figure out next steps, we’ll get bogged down, begin to sink in and just get stuck!

Today, I will make my plan and begin to  move forward. Yes, the shoreline might curve a bit on the way, might be a few rocks to go around or beached jelly-fish to step over, but I am on the move, I am on my quest and will find out where it leads me.

It will be a good, new adventure!