My heartfelt thanks

In 2009 my sweet friend DS was curating an art exhibition in Sydney around the theme of identity, and he asked me to contribute. Not being an artist, I politely declined. He was insistent, however, and called me one day to say my name was included on the invite and I therefore HAD to produce something.

I decided to take up the challenge and create a written piece, which I would then embroider (something I can actually do). The above image is the result. It provides an overview of the breakdown of my marriage and what it took to get me through my grief. It was extremely personal and served to make me question the things that ‘identified’ me at that point. I entitled it: ‘I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU’.

Working on the actual embroidery was labour-intensive and, consequently, cathartic – it made me stop and take stock, and every now and then I would break down and cry as I was sewing furiously to meet my deadline. Somehow DS knew I needed to do this (he’s a little spooky like that).

I thought it would be fitting for my discarded wedding ring to sit at the centre of the piece. It sits there still, and the embroidery is folded neatly and tucked away in a cupboard, along with the box of love letters and a few trinkets and gifts that seemed to lose all meaning once X had broken his vows.

On the evening of the exhibition opening, I was touched to see my words evoke a few tears from friends and people I didn’t know. I did send a photo of the embroidery to X, but all he had to say was that he hoped this would be “the last muddy public outing” of our personal lives.

And here we are… It’s been over eight years since X walked out the door and five years since the muddy public outing. Adhering to the ‘one day at a time’ approach to recovery, I have survived and forged a new life, and I’m happy to say that Thoreau’s theory has held fast.

So, on the occasion of my very first blog post, I want to say THANK YOU to all the amazing people in my life that have helped me to get here. Let this new journey begin.