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So, this afternoon, my grandmother's life came to an end.

Born in 1911 she was two months away from her 97th birthday. She is survived by 2 sisters, four children, 14 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren (plus one more expected in April), and 2 great-great grandchildren. She was the wife of the late Michael Rosa who died in September of 1970.

Through the ages the fates have been portrayed as 3 sisters, spinning out the threads of human life. It struck me that my grandmother's life can in fact be measured, most deftly, in thread. For those who did not know, my grandmother was a master crocheter. In her hands a hook became something that displayed her consummate artistry. She learned the skill as a child and never gave it up her entire life. If she sold her work at a craft fair she would sell out of what she brought and go home with orders from people amounting to more items then she came with to sell. Taking a pride in her work she would reserve her most exquisite work for baby clothes and accessories. In the time it would take some to begin to understand a pattern for a project, she would have expounded upon that idea and fashioned a work that was something completely new. When I think about how she could not leave a pattern unaltered I am reminded of a story about George Frederick Handel; Handel was asked why he so blatantly stole a melody from another composer he replied "Well, he didn't know what a good thing he had there, I had to take it!"

For as long as I live I will remember her being a part of my life. Holidays were not complete without a visit to her home. Rights of passage were always missing something if she were not there.

I hope she was proud of me. I hope she knows I'm going to be ok, that my family will make her proud. That I will continue to spread her legacy of sharing the creative powers with which God so richly endowed her family.