The Birth of a Philosophy

Family trips, when our children were young, usually included pulling a pop-up camper and traveling as cheaply as possible.  We left on vacation every year after school was out and one adventure took us to the Ozarks.  In Hermann, Missouri, a quaint town on the Missouri River with a German background, I wandered into a museum gift shop.  There I saw a number of quilts for sale and a blue and white double wedding ring pattern caught my eye.  Since it was the start of our vacation I was reluctant to part with the large sum of money it would have cost to purchase it.  I left it there.

A highlight of the trip was a visit to the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas.  It was a delightful place to see the crafts that were so much a part of our history.  We watched basket weaving, broom making, weaving, quilting, soap and candle making.  An elderly woman dressed in late 1800's clothes stirred apple butter in a cauldron and told stories of the region.  The music of banjos and fiddles, that was so much a part of the Ozark Mountains, filled the air.  It was a wonderful trip back in time. 

Driving the hilly back roads of Arkansas showed us how people lived and eked out a living.  There were often hand made signs by driveways advertising different things for sale.  One that said QUILTS FOR SALE caught my eye. There were several colorful examples hanging on a clothesline beside a house.  My husband asked me if I wanted to stop and I said, "No," already having made up my mind I couldn't afford one.

As we drove mile after mile I couldn't get those quilts, flapping in the breeze, out of my head.  We were ten miles down the road when I asked if we could go back.  There was no easy place in the hills to turn our car and camper around.  "It's too far to go back," my husband replied and I reluctantly agreed.

That was the beginning of my no regrets philosophy to traveling
and life. Opportunities usually only come around once and must be seized or lost forever.  When we returned home I called the museum in Hermann.  They still had the blue and white double wedding ring quilt and I ordered it on the spot.....hang the expense.  No regrets. It is still one my favorites in a collection of quilts that has grown over the years.