Knitting Retreat

This past weekend was spectacular. I went to the same fabulous lodge (Pond View Lodge in Frederic, WI) for the fourth annual Knitch fall getaway. My knitting group places an extremely high value on this weekend... Away from kids, responsibilities, alarm clocks. Three days of ultimate relaxation—and lots of knitting.

Last year, I went away with a heavy heart. I left a pained husband (at his urging) home with our toddler. Steve, Chris' brother, came over with his girls to do our fall yard maintenance. Chris, I'm sure (although I never heard about it), struggled to try to care for a busy girl while struggling with intense pain.

The very night I got home from that cozy lodge, he quietly called his brother to take him to the ER so he could get help with pain control. And then he called my mom to come sit with me. And then he woke me. To tell me the plan. I was not to drive him—his brother would do that. And my mom would watch over me while I slept—or tried to.

I think he held out for me. He knew how much I needed the time away from all the heavy cares at home. So he denied his own needs. How selfish I felt that night when he was whisked away to the hospital by one who was not his wife. By one who had not spent the weekend away from family and responsibility. I was weak when he needed me. He was strong when he shouldn't have had to be.

These things are nearly too painful to write. But this is the man who married me. He loved me more than he loved himself. He gave until it hurt—literally. The best of men.

So this weekend, I did a lot of reflecting on the past year. I spent long and quiet mornings (those girls like to sleep in!) in a cozy chair with coffee and my Bible. I also knit (selfish knitting—just for me) for hours each day; practiced some Holy Yoga (two of the Knitch girls are certified instructors); ate and drank well; had a massage from a therapist who brought the bed to us; took some fun pictures (I promise to post some of my friend Emily's soon); and talked, laughed, and fellowshipped with some of the dearest friends on earth.

(these photos by Emily Steffen, our founder, at our 2010 knitch retreat… mine are the first pair of hands)