Sunday, December 23, 2007

Loved Ones and the Cherished Memories

OK, we're two days from Christmas.
Nothing to it...

A good friend visited this afternoon who
lost her father just a couple days after
Mom died. (her Dad and Mom were good
friends, as well) Anyway, we were bringing
up good memories of Christmases-past and
having a chuckle.

One of my favorite memories of Mom is the
Christmas she decided to crochet sachets
filled with potpourri for our friends. They were
beautiful. All different colors, all decorated
differently. No two were alike.

I went to the craft store and found decorations
to sew on the sachets that matched the receiver's
personality, hobbies or life in some way. One
gardener had tiny shovels, watering cans and
flowers on hers. You get the picture...

Anyhow! There was a very special person in
my life at that time. Mom liked him too! She
wondered if he'd like one. Sure! Only trouble,
I picked black as the color for the bag.
(I love black) I wasn't thinking...

Mom had macular degeneration. Her eyesight
was failing badly. When I noticed it was taking
much longer to crochet this black bag compared
to the many others, I asked her about it. First,
she didn't want to say. She was so determined!

Then she confessed. It was extremely hard for
her to SEE to work with the black crochet cotton.
I felt terrible! Forget about it, I told her. No way.
She was going to complete this work if it took her
until Valentine's Day. And, she did.

I never told my friend how much love and care
went into the creation of his special gift. I was so
proud of her at the moment she proudly held it up.
"It's finished!" she said with a beaming smile. And
it was finished in plenty of time...

Thank you, Mom! I'll never forget what you did
that Christmas. How touched everyone was who
were special enough to receive one. They all still
talk about theirs. I will cherish mine forever.

The special friend? I couldn't tell you how he feels.
I don't know. He decided I was not special enough
to be in his life. Although he'll always be in my heart.
I hope, if he still has his gift from the heart, he can
look at it and feel good, if only for a moment in time.

Hold and cherish the good memories. Forget the bad ones...

Merry Christmas!
Love,
-Karen