love? someone asked me the other day…besides
a person or a dog or something like that. It took me a minute. Several
things came to mind…mostly food items that had the word chocolate in them….my
cell phone though love might be a strong word for that..it’s more of a
necessity these days….the smell of rain but that’s pretty universal I think. So I thought and thought about what is
something that I love that is unique. That has a reason deeper than “because it tastes good. And what I decided to answer a few days later
when I’d had a chance to put some thought into it was………………......
Quilts. Give me a quilt and you’ve got a nap. I think it goes back to when I was a little
girl and we went to my grannys house in Wills Point a lot. When we did go I always got to sleep with her
in her poster bed and she always had a quilt on it. I think quilts take me back to a time of
innocence before I realized all the bad things there were in the world, When I was in grannys bed with the weight of
a quilt securing me there was nothing bad that could touch me. ....
girl and we went to my grannys house in Wills Point a lot. When we did go I always got to sleep with her
in her poster bed and she always had a quilt on it. I think quilts take me back to a time of
innocence before I realized all the bad things there were in the world, When I was in grannys bed with the weight of
a quilt securing me there was nothing bad that could touch me. ....
.. ..
When I was in my early 20’s
my mom made me a quilt and it was bright patches of yellow because she knew
that was my favorite color and on the squares she embroidered the names and
birthdates and anniversary dates of all the people in my life that mattered
most to me at the time. The quilt became
an adult security blanket for me and during that abusive first marriage it
soaked up a lot of tears of anguish and sorrow. I remember when I finally had the courage to leave, I took a seam ripper
and picked out the name, birthdate and anniversary of my ex-husband. And as I entered a new marriage and a new
life I would ask my mom if she would embroider the names the new people in my
life onto the quilt. She never got
around to that. Maybe she knew that you
can’t totally erase the past and to this day if you look at the quilt closely
you can make out by looking at the holes where I ripped out the embroidery
thread the name of the man who broke my heart the first time. That quilt still had the names of people who
mattered to me and who loved me and so it never lost its value to me and it was
that yellow quilt that covered my shivering body after the birth of my son
Chris, when the warming blankets didn’t do the job. I’m surprised to this day that they let that
ragged old quilt in the sterile delivery room but they did. And it was on that quilt that I changed
diapers and napped with my newborn for the first time. ....
my mom made me a quilt and it was bright patches of yellow because she knew
that was my favorite color and on the squares she embroidered the names and
birthdates and anniversary dates of all the people in my life that mattered
most to me at the time. The quilt became
an adult security blanket for me and during that abusive first marriage it
soaked up a lot of tears of anguish and sorrow. I remember when I finally had the courage to leave, I took a seam ripper
and picked out the name, birthdate and anniversary of my ex-husband. And as I entered a new marriage and a new
life I would ask my mom if she would embroider the names the new people in my
life onto the quilt. She never got
around to that. Maybe she knew that you
can’t totally erase the past and to this day if you look at the quilt closely
you can make out by looking at the holes where I ripped out the embroidery
thread the name of the man who broke my heart the first time. That quilt still had the names of people who
mattered to me and who loved me and so it never lost its value to me and it was
that yellow quilt that covered my shivering body after the birth of my son
Chris, when the warming blankets didn’t do the job. I’m surprised to this day that they let that
ragged old quilt in the sterile delivery room but they did. And it was on that quilt that I changed
diapers and napped with my newborn for the first time. ....
.. ..
Later, my mom made me a 2nd
quilt, similar to the first. But this one was blue and peach. It had the same names and birthdates as the
first quilt, minus a few….and it had new names and birthdates that had found
their way into my heart. And so I
retired old yeller as I called it to my hope chest to be taken out occasionally
when I was sick or when my children were sick to cover and comfort them in my
mother’s love. The blue quilt became my
new security blanket and when Andy was born it was in the room. This time she did embroider it again to add
his precious name to that of his brother Chris. My heart’s desire was to be able to take it out again someday and
embroider a little girls name on a square. But that was not meant to be. And many years
later, I didn’t have the heart or the desire to seam rip out their dad’s name
when he left me broken hearted. Its
still there, along with the names of all his family who still have a piece of
my heart. For through your children you
make ties that bind forever. For even
through divorce, they remain an aunt, an uncle, a grandparent, a cousin to your
children. Divorce cannot take that
away.....
quilt, similar to the first. But this one was blue and peach. It had the same names and birthdates as the
first quilt, minus a few….and it had new names and birthdates that had found
their way into my heart. And so I
retired old yeller as I called it to my hope chest to be taken out occasionally
when I was sick or when my children were sick to cover and comfort them in my
mother’s love. The blue quilt became my
new security blanket and when Andy was born it was in the room. This time she did embroider it again to add
his precious name to that of his brother Chris. My heart’s desire was to be able to take it out again someday and
embroider a little girls name on a square. But that was not meant to be. And many years
later, I didn’t have the heart or the desire to seam rip out their dad’s name
when he left me broken hearted. Its
still there, along with the names of all his family who still have a piece of
my heart. For through your children you
make ties that bind forever. For even
through divorce, they remain an aunt, an uncle, a grandparent, a cousin to your
children. Divorce cannot take that
away.....
.. ..
I wish my mom had lived to
make me yet another quilt before she died. Now I have to resort to store bought quilts to get my fix. The blue quilt and the yellow quilt remain in
my hope chest, listed in my will so that they will never be sold at a garage
sale or used to line a dog house or lost in transition. For those quilts, not unlike a scrapbook
contain memories…good and bad, precious and sorrowful. And someday, a hundred years from now a
great, great, great, great grandchild will look a the quilt and say who is
LeeAnn ..9-14-58..? And their parent will tell them, the rest of
the story. ....
make me yet another quilt before she died. Now I have to resort to store bought quilts to get my fix. The blue quilt and the yellow quilt remain in
my hope chest, listed in my will so that they will never be sold at a garage
sale or used to line a dog house or lost in transition. For those quilts, not unlike a scrapbook
contain memories…good and bad, precious and sorrowful. And someday, a hundred years from now a
great, great, great, great grandchild will look a the quilt and say who is
LeeAnn ..9-14-58..? And their parent will tell them, the rest of
the story. ....
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