my blanket, my testament, my masterpiece

Events and circumstances are the fibers of our lives. I believe these individual fibers interwoven create the fabric of who we are. In other words independent stand-alone events, circumstances, situations come together to form who we are.

So, me, Anietra, I'm a soft, cozy blanket 31 years long. I can visualize an old woman in a rocking chair, crocheting my being from the moment I was pushed out of my mother's womb. Such a huge responsibility for this woman to take on because there is so much work, so much crocheting yet to be done.

My blanket is every color of the rainbow, expressing my abundant youth, colorful heritage, vibrant self-discovery. Colors depicting my hardships and victories, my losses and loves. Everything is represented in this blanket of my life - my testament.

Did I say my blanket was soft and cozy? It did not start out so. In my early years my blanket was too small to judge how it would "turn out". The old woman continued to crochet, content with the notion that she would see how it "turned out" at the end. As the years progressed, these fibers, that were joined to become the fabric of my life - my blanket - seemed to become coarse and rigid. A comfy blanket it was not.

Up to that point, the old woman was crocheting at will. All my experiences were worked into my blanket, not too different then a knitting factory churning out sweaters at assembly line pace. Then there was a shift. I began to discover who I was, began to evaluate each individual fiber of my being and the value I had placed on them. I radiated understanding, acceptance, love and peace. The old woman crocheted them, turning my tough blanket into a supple one and it continues on...

My blanket, my testament, my masterpiece.