All the Places You Have Been.

Last week, my daughter celebrated her 11th birthday.

How could that be?  Time has moved so quickly.  

"The days are long, but the years are fast." 

I don't think I would have understood that idea, or at least,

not paid as much attention to it, before I was a Mother. 

But now, I get it.

So for her birthday, I wanted to create something that showed her

progression through life, in one that celebrated all that she has experienced. 

And this year, in the fifth grade, she studied the 50 states--by name, their capital and their geographic placement.  I was happy to be able to teach her  "the Fifty Nifty United States" a song I had learned back in 1976--and still to this day, can recite every state, in alphabetically order,

(thank you Mrs. Heuck!)

I loved the idea of creating this map, of the United States, with embroidery paths from her home in San Francisco, leading to all the places we have travelled.  

And with each new trip,  we will add a new path, and fill the map for years to come.  And I know those years, will happen quickly, so I'm prepared
with embroidery floss on the ready!