Not Far from the Tree

I have several very vivid memories from my childhood. Most are good experiences, a few are remembered for the emotional trauma, but for the most part they are good memories.

I can clearly remember one day when I was 7 maybe 8 and my mother was cleaning out a room in the basement, emptying a box of old stuff that she didn't have use for anymore. There always seemed to be some box like that down in the basement! Well, as she pulled out random odds and ends most of it went into the trash without a second glance until she pulled out the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes upon- a length a moss green and white gingham fabric! Oh the beauty, oh the treasure, oh how I NEEDED that piece of fabric. My mind immediately began to calculate all the wonders I could create with this new medium in my hands. My mother, never being one to stifle our creative minds, handed over the prize and I was beaming.

She then left for some reason, probably to make a donation to Deseret Industries, and I set to work. I had it all figured out in my mind. This material would be perfect for making pillows for my dolls. Round ones, square ones, rectangle ones- the sky was the limit! I rounded up my supplies- fabric, scissors, cotton balls, and tape- yes this was going to be perfection! I laid out the fabric and cut out my shapes, put some cotton in the middle and began to tape- only this wasn't going as planned- that stupid tape wasn't following my explicit instructions to stay put!! Never you mind, I would continue, defeat was not in my vernacular. I pressed on, only to become more and more frustrated as each bond gave way and I realized that my masterpieces were doomed to failure. Tears began to sweep down my cheeks and devastation filled my soul.

It was at that very moment, sitting in my mother's kitchen amid the orange and green fruit wallpapered walls and the green geometric vinyl flooring that my mother walked through the back door. Quickly she scanned the scene and came to my rescue. She sat down next to me, told me my creations were wonderful, I only had one flaw, I needed to SEW them, not tape them. The light, oh the light! Why yes!! She was so right!! I asked for a needle and thread, I would sew them! She smiled, looked into my tear streaked eyes and told me she had an even better idea, she would get out the sewing machine and we would do it the easy way together.

Amid all the chaos that she must have been involved in. I think back, not only had she been caring for 8 children that day, but she must have been in a massive clean out of the house, and still not a moments hesitation. She had that sewing machine out and we were making the most perfect pillow for my dolls complete with some lace trim that she pulled out of nowhere.

Really it was a small thing to her I am sure, but to me it made all the difference. It made me feel important and loved. That what I was doing meant something to her and that she cared enough to create the project together with me. Everything else faded into the background, it was just me and my mother, together.

So you will see why this last Saturday afternoon turned out a little different than planned. While elbow deep in making projects for upcoming birthdays and trying to help with the bathroom renovations, and doing the grocery shopping and taking care of my children, I came across Abby in the playroom. Tears streaming down her sweet cheeks and telling herself "oh it just isn't going to work!". I quickly scanned the situation and found that she had retrieved some scrap fabric from my projects and had determined in her mind that it was PERFECT and she was going to make a dress for herself. She had rounded up her supplies- fabric, scissors, and glue. She had cut out her pieces and begun Elmer's gluing them together until the realization hit that it wasn't going to hold and she had spilled glue all over the playroom carpet.

I could see the defeat and suddenly, I was seven years old sitting in my mother's kitchen all over again. I went to her side put my arm around her and said, "This is wonderful, but I think we need some thread." The light, the light, oh how it filled her face. We got out the sewing machine and the both of us worked to put it together. Everything else faded into the background, it was just Abby and I together.I will note that she made and designed this whole thing, all I did was sew where she had tried to glue.
A masterpiece for sure!

Thank you Mom for a lesson learned years ago- you made me a better parent today.