I got a box from Abagail that came late one Friday evening to the office so I picked it up before I left town the next morning.  I hadn't planned this trip -- my daughter was having problems and thought she wanted to come home, so I just threw a few things into the car, stopped and picked up the box, and took off without opening it.  Abagail was concerned because she had wanted me to get the package at a certain time, and she was disappointed that it hadn't arrived when it should have.

I went to the city and got my daughter, and we went to my son's house to spend the night.  After we settled in, I brought in the package from Abagail and started opening it up in front of family members.

Well, packed carefully in the box was a lovely pottery cup and some tea -- so I could hold in my own hands a soothing cup that had actually been touched by our friend, Abagail.  Under some more packaging was a beautiful interesting blue pottery bowl and a package of bread mix.  I discovered later that bread can actually be baked in this bowl.  So I could have a piece of fresh bread with my tea.  How many times have we talked about sitting together at the Towanda Table with hot tea and freshly baked bread!

I was thinking oh my gosh!  Abagail shouldn't have spent her money for these things!  I was expecting it to be a kind of gag gift that would make me laugh.

Then I realized that there was something else wrapped in blue paper underneath all that packing.  And guess what it was!  The Yellow Towanda Quilt!  It's that bright and happy yellow quilt top that Abagail told us  she hung on the wall of her bedroom.

Well, I startled everyone by bursting into tears and laughter at the same time.  What an odd sensation.  I said, "Oh my god! It's the Yellow Towanda Quilt" and they all just looked at me in confusion, wondering what on earth that meant and why it made me laugh and cry.

In spite of Abagail's attempts to get it here sooner, it couldn't have come at a better time.  My daughter and I spent the night, then headed south the next morning.  She was uncertain what she was going to do next and had asked me to come and bring her to home.  I told her there wasn't any reason either of us needed to be at home right now, and I thought we should just start driving toward my sister's and then on out of state.  Neither of us had much with us, but I figured it didn't matter.

When we got over the pass and settled in at my sister's, I brought in the box to show her.  I pulled out the tea things and the bread things, and she had the same reaction I did -- what beautiful pottery things -- what a wonderful thought -- from Abagail!  And then . . . .I took out the Yellow Towanda Quilt and unwrapped it, and her mouth dropped open.  She said, "It's the Yellow Towanda Quilt!"

After a while, I stretched out on a pallet on the floor under a window in the sunny living room, and pulled the Yellow Towanda Quilt over me to rest for a while.  The wind had blown hard on the drive south across the plains and over the pass, and I felt tired and could still hearing the wind roaring in my ears.  I was feeling very unsettled, disoriented, a little depressed, and concerned about my daughter.  Had we both lost our "mooring" at the same time?  Were we both going to be out looking for jobs?

And the strangest thing happened!!

Everywhere the quilt touched me, I could feel hundreds of little tiny Women Hands patting me with hugs and comfort!  And with my eyes closed, I could "see" a pink and yellow light between my body and the Quilt!  And instead of jumping up to tell my sister right away, I just fell fast asleep and got a good rest.

I had a couple of restless nights, wandering the house trying not to wake anyone.  My daughter went home the second day, so that was very discouraging to me because I had in mind that mother and daughter would travel and process and thought it would do us both good and give us some sense of direction, or at least some time together.   And I was still feeling disoriented because my old job had ended and I hadn't decided what to do next.  So the last night there, I got the Quilt back out of the box again and spread it over my little bed in the cozy room and slept great all night long.

When I got home, I asked Abagail what the plans were for the Yellow Towanda Quilt.  Should I return it to her?  Keep it?  Pass it on?  She said it was up to me to decide.  It came into her life like a miracle and it seems to keep that quality.  So it is magical.

I think it would be great to be able to put it back in the same box it came to me in and send it on around the table when others need it.  I think I only "needed" it for those few days.

So now it is on its way to Katherina's house.