When I heard that Grandma had passed away, the first thing that I thought of was how she touched so many lives and became part of us as we grew up. I wanted to tell everyone what she meant to me and show them at the same time. That is why I have decided to write about my Grandma. She was the family quilt.
I know that my aunts and uncles, mom and dad will understand why I can think of Grandma as a quilt. Each of them created a block of themselves and their family that created a quilt representing their families. I feel that the quilt they created is an extension to the quilt that Grandma started a long time ago. A quilt she hand sewed. A quilt that shows she touched so many.
In my mind, Grandma’s quilt starts in the middle with a big red heart. Right beside that heart is a big solid block that represented Grandpa. Surrounding both of them are eight wonderful, multiple color blocks that represent my mom, and each of my uncles and aunts. From my point of view she wove each into her heart, and made each feel special. She wove them into her heart with tenderness and caring, and most of all love.
Right now I only want to look at my small piece of the quilt, and it looks like this:
Connected to my mom’s block is my small block. I see her picking pieces for my block as she always did from some old shirt or bed sheet. I think that mine started as an old flannel shirt and grew from there.
Various pieces in my block include memories that are from my earliest childhood. Memories that started in the Independence, MO house. The strongest of which is her rocking chair with a quilt hanging on the back with a flat pillow. The rocking chair that we all loved to sit in, but I loved to see her in it more.
I see a piece that shows her laughing and giggling. She always seemed to be smiling and laughing with all of us. As her laughing grew, we knew that shortly thereafter she would make a quick dash to the bathroom, and this made us laugh and smile that much more.
I see a brown piece that represents her coffee. For whatever reason, this brown piece probably shouldn’t be brown…I think that coffee was the smallest part in her cup. There are also pieces that represents memories that range from all of the books that she read, to the canning that she did, to the first chicken meal she made when I first introduced Deepa to her and Grandpa, to the gooseberry and rhubarb pies.
There are pieces that represent all of the Christmas trees delicately decorated. All of the memories of these times together with both Grandma and Grandpa mean so much to me. Over the years, all of the thought felt gifts are now the ones that I have grown to appreciate even more the older I have become.
There is also the piece that represents the quilts that she made for me. I am lucky to have two quilts hand stitched by her. I remember that she asked me to use them rather than just let them lie about on a bed. With that in mind, one quilt has been with me on every picnic or cold night under the evening sky at Theatre in the Park. When I spread the quilt out, I see her hand written name on the back corner and remember…I am doing what she asked me to do and I know that she would smile. It is somewhat tattered, but still holding strong. The other quilt is lying on my bed at home, all red and white. While I may not be using it in my daily life, it is so beautiful I just look at it and smile.
I see another piece that represents her church. Whenever I spent the night at the in Independence home, Sunday morning meant Church. Part of what I learned about faith and God came from her. From that I know that she is now happy and free to be with God and Grandpa.
I can go on and on, but these are just a few of the hundreds of pieces that are included in my small block. Before I knew it, I became part of her quilt. Woven into her quilt with my memories and her love. Connected to so many others…family and friends. From all of these pieces and blocks we have her life. The stitches may have not have been as even or as perfect in the end, but the underlying batting, backing, and vivid color were still there. She was the Quilt that surrounded each of us and we surrounded her. She made us feel comfortable, loved, and special. She was the heart in the middle.
We will miss you Grandma…With all my love. Michael
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