How Crochet and Knitting Help the Brain

With one ear cocked toward Phoebe’s room, 

Essie carefully folded the white-on-white

bedspread with its stylized pattern of lovebirds. 

The intricate stitching had kept her mind

calm, as it tended to. She often thought that

being productive-and creative with it, if she

could brag a bit-held a firm rein on her mind 

and refused to allow it to wander into those

places where panic waited. It was good work, she could think that, 

and the bride who

received it as a wedding gift would have 

something unique and special, something that

could be passed on for generations. 

She arranged the dark silver tissue. 

Even that, the

fussing with the finished product, 

the meticulous packaging of it,

 helped keep her hands

busy and her mind steady.

High Noon

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By flora - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1475589

I am a nurse and lifelong knitter with a calling to bring my best self in service to others.

My background in neuro-developmental pediatrics and experience working with children and adults with brain injury, spinal cord injury, strokes, and neurological disorders, led to a fascination with neuroplasticity and the ability of the brain to “rewire” itself.

Because the practice of knitting/crochet is so helpful in dealing with anxiety, the ARC was the first organization I approached, and they, and you, were interested! I’m very excited for this opportunity to teach these skills as a tool to quiet the mind, mend the brain, and soothe the soul.

ARC

ANXIETY RESOURCE CENTER

__________________

“Who thought of bringing her mother ’s crocheting in?”

“Bo did.”

“Well, it’s excellent therapy for both of them. 

Cora’s teaching Alice to crochet, and they’re

spending time quietly that way. It’s good for both of them. 

It’s going to take time, Maureen. I wish I could tell you how much time.”

Come Sundown

How to Design Your Garden for More Meaning and Connection

She gestured, waited until he stopped looking into her eyes, followed her direction. 
“You’ve got a couple of rosebushes over there. You should dig them up. 
Make sure you get good root balls, cover them with burlap, 
and take them to your mother. 
I bet your sister would know how to get them going again. 
It would mean something to your mother.”

In his throat, emotion lodged with gratitude. 
“There are times I don’t know what to say to you. Times you just blow a hole through me.”

He drew her in, held on. “I’ll dig them up,” he told her. 
“She’ll like that, and I wouldn’t have

thought of it.”

“You might have.”

“I’d throw it all out,” he stated, looking over her head at what might’ve been his. 
“That’s the wrong way. There’s some of those daffodils trying to come up on
the side of the house. I could dig them up, too. 
Savannah always liked those when we were kids.” 

Come Sundown

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Photo by Marian Boswall Landscape Architects - Browse landscaping photos

Gardens can connect us to the natural world in meaningful ways, whether we’re plucking the first ripe berries of the season or pausing to watch wild birds flit through foliage. While we most often talk about the nuts and bolts of landscape design — the shrubs, pathways and irrigation systems that make them work — let’s take a moment to explore the less tangible ways we can design our gardens to foster connection with nature.

HOUZZ

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She trailed off, stopped. “There’s a bench,” she murmured. “There’s a
beautiful bench exactly where I wanted one.”
“That’s your surprise. Welcome home, Abigail.”
Her vision blurred as she stepped forward to run her hands over the smooth curve of the back, the arms. 
It looked like a log, hollowed out, polished to a satiny gleam, and on the middle of the back was a carved heart with the initials A.L. and B.G. in the center.
“Oh. Brooks.”
“Corny, I know, but—”
“No, it’s not! That’s a stupid word. I prefer romantic.”
“So do I.”
“It’s a beautiful surprise. Thank you. Thank you.” She threw her arms around him.
“You’re welcome, but I get to sit on it, too.”



The Witness

Missing 42 Years

In her mind, Alice had stayed the pretty, wild-natured young girl who’d run off to be a movie star.

That pretty young girl, and all the stages of that girl before that day.

The little girl in frilly dresses and cowboy boots. The fretful baby she’d rocked late at night. The

defiant teenager, the child who’d crawled into bed with her seeking comfort from a bad dream.

The woman in the bed with the bruised face, the dull and graying hair, the hard lines dug in around

her mouth and eyes bore little resemblance to those precious images.

Still, Cora thought, she recognized her daughter.

Come Sundown

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Police Find Woman Missing 42 Years — But Mystery Remains

Police have "solved" a decades-old missing person case — but the woman who vanished so long ago now has dementia and can't explain her own disappearance.

MSN

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“Every once in a while something—someone—peeks out from the trauma.”

Come Sundown