hands down

i have always been fascinated by hands.  i fell into my first high school crush after seeing a pencil sketch said crush had drawn of his own left hand.  i marveled as my great-grandmother's knotted hands left perfect stitches in yet another quilt.  i drew comfort from the way my small hand was encompassed by the large, rough hands of the farmers at my grandfather's funeral.  they are most often the first thing i notice on someone.  i see the lines formed in the way the hand is held, take in the  visible signs of use, measure the confidence  displayed in a handshake. 

my hands are often the first clue to what i've been up to. rough and dry? building.  cracked?  definitely sewing!  colorful? painting.  missing a few nails?  frazzled.  without a doubt they are my most photogenic feature, and last night i did some editing on the pics from the photo shoot my mom (she is great with that camera) took for my blog.  i cropped several down to just my hands; they were the only part worth saving in my opinion (my issues with photos is a whole different blog topic). 

so today, when i stumbled across the blog "i am..." (check out the button on the side bar) and saw that the theme for april asked "what is your favorite thing about you?"  i had to laugh..  hmmmmm, now which pic to choose? 

the last gunfighter

in the past, creating this post would have meant the outer edge of my left hand would be blue from dragging across the ink as i wrote, but today they are moving over the keyboard without my having to think too hard.  they can still produce fairly accurate notes if i drag out my violin.   they can thread a sewing machine, turn a seam, pin a pattern, bring an idea to reality.  soon i'm going to ask them to work "independently together" as i embark on piano lessons. 

what is my favorite part of me?  the part i take most for granted.  the part that tattles my age more than the rest of me.  the part that holds the faces of my loved ones.  yep, my favorite part, hands down.

stay fabulous!

cassie