Groovin' to the sounds of a new tune

So, a few days ago, I was talking with my mom -- yup, that'd be Betty Nielsen, FQ founder -- and the subject of music came up...

I've been listening to a lot of country lately, she says to me. It's what we listen to while we're quilting. The girls like it -- they like it better than my stuff. And it's starting to grow on me.

Mom even went on to talk about The Girls getting together to have their own in-house Freedom Quilts night of line dancing lessons. Linda Madsen offered to teach The Girls a whole new set of moves. Admittedly, this sounds like a lot of fun. But still, I almost couldn't believe Mom's big swing in music tastes.

The Betty who spoon-fed mashed up carrots into a much smaller version of my brother and me was a woman who'd strut her stuff to the soulful sounds of Motown. Mom often interrupted the Saturday cleaning routine so that she could teach my brother and I how to swing our hips to the beat of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Now, I know Mom still loves Motown. But her movement into brand new tastes and preferences is a testament to how close this group is, how much they've ventured to learn... and to grow together.