It's crunch time. So, forgive me if this is short.

Two years ago I asked my Zen teacher if I could accept the Buddhist Precepts in a formal ceremony. He agreed and gave me the green light to start sewing a rakusu, a bib-like thingy that hangs from the neck and is patched together.

Okay, so it doesn't always take two years...I just, uh, took my time. But now, time is up and I will be participating in the ceremony, what's called Jukai, in just a few short weeks with three of my other fellow sewers.

I'm super excited. I will probably cry. Sewing (almost) every Monday night for the past two years has been frustrating at times (if you really want to learn patience, I recommend you sew intensively for a good month or so and then go back and rip all the thread out when you realize you've made a mistake), but mostly joyful. I've bonded with my fellow sewers and we've shared a lot of nerdy jokes, cookies and belly laughs.

Now, we will share a ceremony. It's going to be awesome.