My Mother's Clock

I might have talked about this clock before....I can't remember.  That's okay because time has passed and as it does I get older; my body has changed - not always for the better, my eyesight has dimmed, and while my mind might be a bit slower my memories are strong.  This clock hung in my mother's house for as long as I can remember.  When I was about 10 or so (I think) my mother was in the hospital for something I've long forgotten and my dad bought this for her as a coming home gift.  When she left us to join Daddy in Heaven I got the clock.  Maybe I just took the clock.  :)

There are two things hanging on it that have been there so long they are faded beyond recognition.  One is the tassel from my high school graduation.  The other is the one and only ribbon my mother ever won for one of her quilts.  She'd have won more except that she never entered one in a show or competition....I entered one secretly in the county fair and that's how she won this ribbon!

I look at it every day and I am reminded of several things.  First, that she loved me so much that she kept that stupid tassel right there in sight.  High school graduates were non-existent in her family or in Daddy's.  When I graduated from college they were right there front and center, and when I got my Master's, oh my goodness that was beyond anything they had dreamed for me.

That ribbon reminds me that being modest is okay, but we should all have dreams.  We are empowered by our dreams....moved forward by our dreams....enriched by our dreams.  I'm not one to compete either; I'm so much like my mother in that way.  But whether or not we put our quilts out there for competition is irrelevant.  What is important is that we constantly strive to get better at our stitching, to learn new skills that showcase our ability to improve, and to pass our love of sewing on to others, teaching and sharing wherever we can.  One of the joys in life is seeing something of ourselves in others, or maybe, in our case, on others.  A quilt covering a newborn baby, a purse slung over the shoulder of our sweet teen granddaughter, a well loved Christmas pillowcase, or tooth fairy pillow, a quilt made from a loved ones shirts, .... I could go on and on and on.

Those of you who, like me, spend way too much money on fabric and tools and then make things you give away....you know exactly what I mean.  Your heart is in every stitch.  You pray over the things you make, asking for all good things for that loved one.  I'm so glad I learned to quilt.  I'm so glad my mother and both of my grandmothers made quilts that I can hold so that I am reminded of their dear, sweet faces.  That's what I want for my children and my grandchildren....years from now I want them to pull something out, hold it in their hands, and remember me.