Separated At Birth?

No, I'm not a twin and no, I wasn't separated at birth from anyone--at least I don't think so.  But I had the most amazing experience when my two cousins came to visit last week.  Le, the cousin on the left lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Annie, the cousin on the right lives in Santa Cruz, California.  (You could see a little more family resemblance if I were wearing my actual hair color!).  I have seen Annie a couple of times in the last few years, but I haven't seen Le since I was 12 years old.  Annie and I had gotten along so well when she did visit me before that she felt that she should really make it possible for Le and me to reconnect as Le is a quilt artist and has many of the same interests.  I am usually nervous in situations that involve the unknown but, strangely enough, I was excited--in a good way.  And when they came down the ramp at the airport it was as if I had just seen both of them yesterday.  There was an immediate recognition of kindred spirits.  So, although we weren't separated at birth and we aren't twins (however, Le does have a twin sister), there seems to be some kind of genetic, cellular link that has transcended time and distance.  I truly think of them as my sisters of the heart.

While they were here, I was definitely a tourist in my own town and went many places that I never take the time to do ordinarily.  We wandered around the streets of Charleston, gawking at things that tourists do; we went to the Heyward-Washington house and saw some beautiful, priceless period furniture; we went to an incredible jazz concert; we walked through the old market--and the list goes on.  The weather was perfect for everything outdoors.  We even watched an outdoor wedding in a local park (talk about voyourism!).

But one of the magical things that was part of this visit was the art we saw everywhere we went.  This week I have been doing sort of a word study on "creativity"--looking at quotes related to making creativity a consistent part of my life.  One of the quotes I came across was by philosopher, George Kneller .  He said, "To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted."  And that is exactly what we did last week.  We looked at cobblestones on the streets of Charleston, we took picture after picture of the gorgeous ironwork on gates (including the famous Sword Gate).  We went to the incredible Angel Oak on Johns Island and marveled at its magnificence and we saw this beautiful little flower in my aunt's yard--and on the way there, we saw a huge piece of floral art made from old paint cans..  We went to Charlestowne Landing with my art group and looked at tree bark and old fortifications and they even came with me to the Tri-County Fair to judge the quilt show there.  Everywhere we went, we went with enthusiasm and we saw beauty (and potential quilts).  I think that I truly looked at things "afresh" and much of what made that possible was that I was sharing these experiences with others who also look at things in an artful, unhurried way.  The things that I had taken for granted came alive and enriched my life.  And as I look at these pictures I also am carrying with me the joy, love and downright fun I had with my two so very special cousins.