My mother turned 73 in March and it is really difficult for me to watch her grow older. She has always been this woman of grace who has endowed our family with an immeasurable amount of her love and patience. I’ve never known anyone else in my life to be as selfless and generous with anything they have, including time, as my mom. She has been my pillar of strength on countless occasions and now to see that strength grow dimmer each day, is very heart wrenching. Every part of her body brings her pain at one time or another and we’ve discovered if she keeps her hands busy, then it keeps her mind off of suffering and to some degree I do think keeping her hands busy also helps her arthritis. I do my best to keep her furnished with projects to accomplish this task and now you have the story behind today’s treasure...
These are flour sack dishtowels with the days of the week that mom just finished embroidering. I hadn’t seen these patterns in years (probably since my Sprouse Reitz days!) so when I brought them to her, she was excited to work on them. Now that this set is complete, she is starting another one for each of the kids for when they move out. They might not fully understand the love and energy behind the work, but I do hope they appreciate them as I do mine. When I told her I was going to put them on my blog she said, “Well, let me iron them!”…And I said, “don’t be silly mom, it’s a “come as you are” kind of place!”
So maybe these brought some memories back for you and maybe you yourself like to embroider, but mostly I hope they provided you with that humble notion of aging...the inevitable burden of living with our bodies as they change and we are no longer able to do the things we use to...I hope we can each take a little time to slow down and smooth away the wrinkles on our loved one's hands and let them know they are irreplaceable and worthy of a long trip to the store "just" to get that special color of green.
*I don't have the heart to use these dishtowels, so I have them neatly folded and put away with my linens...that way I can treasure them for a long time.
8 comments:
What sweet thoughts. I'll be seeing my parents this weekend in Oklahoma City. It made me feel closer to them just by reading your words. I was given linen towels with those same pictures on them for a wedding gift. When the towel part wore out, I framed the pictures with embroidery hoops.
The camping trip was great. I'm still recuperating I think! It was a beautiful setting, right on the lake, with big boulders for the boys to fish from. I actually got up on a mountain bike and we took a short ride. Hugs to you!
o memories I too have of flour sack dish towels, my Mom has done the same for me, and I have some pillow cases as well, my grandmother use to do dish towels for people she knew and didnt know for wedding gift's, or to make extra xash, and when my grandmother passed on, we found her stash of money in her closet in a small over night suit case, she'd forgotten about, such sweet memories of past time of things made with true love.... Thanks for memories, love to you...Nettie
love the flour sack dish towels!.....i remember my mom having these also....but i don't believe she did them...not sure who did.
my dad will be 80 this june....and he stays active through helping his neigbors and several families, less fortunate, that always seem to need assistance....it keeps him active (though he needs more exercise) and keeps his mind active also. it is a hard process...and my dad only allows us to "help" so much....
i would love to know where you found the pattern, joni....and embroider them for my girls.....i used to love doing that....maybe in my "spare" time....i can add it to my list! :)
thanks for the memories and words of gentleness this morning....we have had the flu bug something fierce here....and i am helping out cory as brody has been sick for a week now....so my posting is going to be sporadic until things get a little less hectic!
hugs for a wonderful day,
kimberly
Wonderful! I too come from a long line of hands that embroider. I believe my aunt would have embroidered her panties... hey, maybe she did.
Hugs, Phyllis
Kimberly, I found this pattern at a local craft store we have here called beverly's...they actually have quite a few to choose from and they're only $1.19. I would be happy to pick up a pattern for you if you would like...off the top of my head I remember they had the swiss miss (shown), birdhouses, owls, turtles, snowmen, chicks and bunnies (these weren't as cute as they sound)and then they had a few that weren't days of the week...butterflies, etc.
sorry to hear you guys have all been sick, but I do understand the sporadic posting...my semester is winding down and all of these projects are coming due, some of which I have procrastinated on, but things will return to normal soon...meanwhile I hope your family is feeling better...it's no fun being sick that's for sure!
Do take care!
Yes Joni your comments came through. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Your kind words of your Mother and aging are so fresh for me as you know I lost my Mother in February. It hurt me to see her age and lose her eye sight to diabetes. That was very hard because it is almost impossible to keep one busy when the can't see. She too was the pillar of strength and caring in our family and we miss her so much.
Hang on to all the memories that you can both old and new. Your sweet Mother sounds like a very warm and caring women. Bless her heart.
I love the towels and yes they bring back memories for me.
Thanks for sharing this with us Joni. Tell you Mother thanks too. She did a wonderful job.
God Bless You
Patti
These are beautiful loving treasures Joni! My Mom passed over 4 years ago, but this brought a smile to my face remembering her needlepointing :)
She did the Serenity Prayer (huge) for me when I got married. It hung over my bed for 20 years. Um..I think I may hang it back up now. Doesn't matter that I'm divorced. (Even though it has our names and date) LOL. Doesn't really matter does it?
I vote for having them on constant display in frames. Tears of remembrance and an actual tactile sense of the feel of the fabric accompanied my enjoyment of this piece. Thank You Joni Darling!
I love loving You
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