Saturday, February 09, 2008

Grandma's Quilt


Christmas was inviting us to a quiet, noneventful day. My nephew, Marty, and his wife Deb were driving north to spend Christmas with her family. It has been a while since they have spent Christmas away from home. Our Christmases are usually small anyway. Marty and Deb, Wendell (his brother), Mom, Jamelah and me. But we always have a lot of fun and laughter even if the group around the table is small. With two gone, that meant there would only be four of us for dinner.

We decided not to have the spiral sliced ham and opted for a nice roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, fresh rolls and cherry pie. More than enough for four. And yes, we had plenty.

Mom had been telling me she hadn't bought me anything for Christmas. Which really didn't matter. Christmas long ago stopped being about the gift business. We had decided that even though our situation had greatly changed financially, we weren't going to go crazy this Christmas. I had bought Mom a new speaker phone, (she was having trouble using the phone in her living room since she had gotten her hearing aids). I bought one just like the one she has in her bedroom, so she wouldn't have to learn to use a "different" type phone than what she was used to.

Jamelah made her peanut butter fudge and we cooked the dinner. Roast beast and all except the mashed potatoes and cole slaw which Mom was making. I baked the cherry pies that morning and took the last one out of the oven just before we left the house. Nothing quite so good as warm pie, which it was; so warm in fact it burned our tongues and we all couldn't stop eating it. In no time we had put away an entire pie.

Then the gift exchange. Mom had been telling me that she was "regifting" this year or just giving away things that she had laying around the house. The first thing she handed me was a large brown mailing envelope. Inside was a zippered case for keeping documents in. I smiled and said "nice, thanks. I can always use something to keep things in", Looked at Jamelah, shrugged, grinned and whispered something just "laying around the house".

Jamleah opened her present and found the bracelets she had loved when she was a little girl. They had belonged Mom's Mom and Grannie had given them to her on her last visit with her. Jamelah always played with them as a little girl and always wanted to "keep" them. Now she can.

Then I discovered I had something else to open from Mom and found inside the package some of her jewelry. A coat pin that had been my Grandmother's and also a necklace that my father had given to my mom. I was touched and immediately hung the jeweled cross on a gold chain around my neck. It hasn't come off since.

Then, Mom brough out a large gift bag and handed it to me. Oh, dear, I wondered, what can this be: a centerpiece, something to hang on the wall. I looked inside and was immediately choked up. Folded there was my Grandmother's quilt. Like the jewelry she had given it to Mom on her last visit.

Now, the quilt is nothing extravagant, in fact, it wasn't made by my grandmother. She bought it at a church bazaar where they were selling quilts to raise monies for some project. Grannie had a big stack of quilts. She had tried to give me one when I had visited her at Christmas. I had felt uncomfortable taking a quilt from the stack. But, when Mom visited she insisted, so Mom picked out a quilt and took it home with her.

Mom had begun quizing me about what she had that I wanted as a remembrance. All I could think of, was I'd like to have the quilt that Grannie had given her. Now, on Christmas she has passed that quilt to me. I don't guess it is a family heirloom. But,it still meant so much to me. I couldn't help but tear up and feel overwhelmed. Mom said, "I don't see why you should wait until I'm dead to enjoy it." It now lays across the foot of my bed. At some point, I want to get a quilt rack and display it there. Someplace where it can be appreciated.

Mom made a quilt and gave it to my daughter for Christmas a couple years ago. Jamelah immediately brought it home and put it on her bed. It went away to school with her this summer. I thought her foolish to "use" this precious item, but I realized it was a special way to be "hugged" by her grandmother and she wraps up in it and feels its warmth. I learned from her that these gifts are to be appreciated and "used" not stored away as precious treasures but rather to be appreciated every day for the love they represent.

Now, I have a quilt given to my Mom by her Mom and someday my daughter will have that same quilt given to her by her Mom. I guess this is the way items become family heirlooms. So, I guess the quilt is one afterall. We have just begun a new tradition.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Ten Things I dislike strongly

1. This winter

2. Emails with 5 paragraph forwarding instructions on the bottom, just in case I don't know in my address book who would be interested in this forward, or that I must send to 5 (10 better) or my eyes would go blind, may hair fall out, and I would be miserable. Wait! maybe there is something to that 2nd one.

3. Drivers talking on cell phones. I don't need to expand on this, seriously, do I? These people are always terrible drivers and should be ticketed for endangering the lives of others on the highway. However, is they run off the road and into a tree, well, I guess that would be OK.

4. People on cell phones in the grocery store asking what to buy and wheeling their cart around, blocking the isle, yeah, like the bad driver on a cell!

5. People with cell phones in the movie theatre. Honestly that tiny blue screen lights up the entire theatre. I don't know how. I've just seen it happen.

6. Well, maybe I just hate all people on cell phones in public, chatting away, for no good reason. That is, good reason, as defined by me. Reasons to use phone in public. (a)Letting someone know exactly where you are so you can meet or they can find the table in a busy restaurant. (b) an emergency And that's it! There are no other good reasons.

7. Gas prices that jump right while I am pumping gas and the price on the sign is WRONG. Yes, this has happened to me. I realize that gas prices jump up and down. So, when I go into the station I have accepted the price I will have to pay on the sign. When it turns out it is going to be more than that... well, I don't like that.

8. Being called on the phone during my lunch hour because they did not want to "bother" me at work. Come on! I have 30 minutes to eat this sandwich and get back to work. Don't call me now!

9. Having to do laundry. I don't hate washing clothes. It's an easy task. I just hate that I "have" to do it right now because I am currently out of something. You know, like jeans... or other stuff.

10. Did I mention this winter. Cause I really do hate it. The most. The very most.

The Weather's Wot Did The Old Gurl In!

This is what people will say after my demise this season! But, the winter from hell, is what I nonaffectionately call it. I swear, this is one of the worst winters of my life. First off, we're told due to global warming its going to be milder. That's great! Milder I can handle. We have been having "milder" winters. So, I was expecting something along the lines of the last few winters.

Yeah! That is exactly what is NOT happening. Since the beginning of December we have had (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)winter(brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). Cold the weathermen describes as "arctic blasts" which is well said. Along with the "arctic blast" comes a foot of snow. Followed by 2 days of "mild" weather with rain and a couple thunder storms. Goodbye foot of snow. This "mild" weather is then followed by another "arctic blast" accompanied by another foot of snow; "and the beat goes on" but not in that soft, jazzy vocal voice, but in something a bit more AC/DC.

So, it isn't like we din't get a January thaw this year (this is a warm trend which lasts a week or 10 days and gets rid of all the ugly snow that has accumulated). It's like we got 4 January thaws and they only lasted 2 days each.

We were promised things would get better and we were looking forward to 4 days of uneventful, calm days. They took that all away with another "arctic blast" and 6 inches of snow; we were to get up into the low 30's yesterday. It never made it past 28. My office temp climbs all the way up to about 50. I come in freezing, I go home freezing.

All I'm saying is, I want spring.
I do not want to hear how you are suffering where you are because the temperature may drop down to 40, or that you will have to put on a sweater when you go out today because your high will only be in the mid 50s. Don't even tell me about it. If you talk to me, I suggest the subject topic of weather not even come up. Yes, that would be a good idea.

Now, I have to go build a fire in the corner of my office, because I'm freakin freezing in here.