Hockey: The Best Grief Therapy $10 Can Buy

Posted on 14 January 2009 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

I’ve had a hard time of it since my Mom died in August.

It’s been hard to continue making hats, which was terrible timing, since autumn and the holidays are my busiest hat season.

Honestly, for a while there, it was hard just to get up and face the day.

Thank goodness for hockey!

Not only does it provide fantastic exercise, and much needed endorphins, but the singular focus of chasing that little black puck around and hitting it with a stick is pure bliss.

Nothing in my head for a whole hour but hockey! No room for grief. No room to feel sorry for myself. Just hockey.

For my money, it’s the best grief therapy around. I highly recommend it!

(That’s me in the yellow helmet, by the way…)

Sharon Lee Cahill, Spunky Mom Extraordinaire

Posted on 1 September 2008 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

My mother was born October 30th, 1937, and just died the 11th of August, 2008.
Sharon Lee Cahill, of Chicago Illinois, circa 1958... before any of us children came along.

It’s been an intense time for me, helping to sort out her little trailer in Folsom, California for the past couple weeks.

One of the best, saddest, happiest, most cathartic tasks has been to go through some family photos.

And this is one of my very favorites… the spunkiness of my mom, before she married, before any of us kids came along…

Stay tuned for more photos of Mom to come…

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Posted on 30 October 2007 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Sharon Lee Cahill: She’s not just my Mom, she’s the reason I know how to knit at all… Andrew Mulligan, Carrie Cahill, and the Mighty Quinn, at the Cantwell Music Festival, Cantwell, Alaska, 1998. Note Mom's handknit, Irish fisherman's sweater!

It all began one day back in 1997, when my Sweet Man and I were first courting in Alaska.

Andy remarked upon the gorgeous, handknit fisherman’s sweater I was wearing, “Did you make it yourself?”

I burst out laughing, “Me? Nah, my Mom made this with yarn I got in Ireland in 1994. She tried to teach me once when I was little, then again in college. I guess I couldn’t stay put long enough to figure it out…”

“What a shame… Surely your Mother would have loved passing on such a useful and beautiful skill to her Only Daughter!”

Of course, Andy was right… so, I asked my Mom to teach me, and learned to knit just a few months later… Sharon Lee Cahill knits away the 4th of July, 2004, in New Boston, New Hampshire, with her protegee' daughter, Carrie Cahill Mulligan.

Who was I before I learned to knit? I can hardly remember…
Who would I be without the love and support of my Mom? I can hardly guess…

In fact, if you have ever wondered how I make close to 200 Heirloom Handknit Hats in a year, now you know… my Mom helps me!

So thanks, Mom, and Happy, Happy Birthday! You bring out the best in me.