wrapped in love....

The last of the Christmas post, My mom finished up the finishing touches of her beautiful christmas gift to me. . On Boxing day this year my mom gave each of us "kids" a large bag with a blanket in side. Each with it's own fabric that was perfect for each of us. Mine had this cute brown fabric that I love!

Then as I opened the blanket up the tears started and amazing memories filled my mind! You see the story goes back 9 years ago and then even before that. My dad had passed away and I was still missing him with that daily ache and grief that stays with you when you first loose someone. One night while watching Extreme Makeover home addition I saw someone make a quilt for a little girl who had lost her dad from some of his old clothes. I knew that is what I wanted to do for my family too. So I talked to my sis Melissa and enlisted her help to go through the pile of dad's clothes at the house. The pile that we had all knew needed to go somewhere but nobody wanted to be the one to really get rid of. We spend at least two days going through clothes laughing at daddy's hot pink polo shirt, joking about that fact that dad wore the same basic thing each day jeans and a polo shirt with the occasional button down short sleave shirt and very rarly a long sleave button down shirt. Also crying over the many pairs of pajama pants he lived in the last few months of his life. The sorting of his clothes was a healing time in it self, a chance for my sis and I to really talk about all the different emotions we were feeling and dealing with. A chance to be honest and talk about things that we saw and did while taking care of dad that no one else would really understand and we would never really be able to explain. A chance to talk through memories and laugh so hard you start to cry all over again.
Well seeing as neither one of us were seamstresses we put the clothes away in a bag to get to later. As the years went by we often said to each other we really need to work on that quilt. Then my mom moved out of our childhood home and to be honest in the middle of the move and all those emotions I forgot about the bag of clothes. Then about a year ago I remembered them and was afraid to ask my mom what happened to then assuming they had been given away or lost in the move. I decided to look at it as a time of healing for me and my sis and let it go. So when I opened up the blanket and saw the clothes sewn together just how I had imagined them moved me to tears. I am sure this was a project that for my mom brought it's own tears and laughter. I hope it was a bit of a healing time for her too.

As I wrapped myself up in the blanket last night I was overcome with tears. I do still miss my dad so much at times. I miss what I think would have been a different relationship now that I am an "adult". I miss learning those things you learn about your parents as both of you get older. I miss talking to my dad!!! I miss not having him see his grandkids. However I was moved by what a gift my mom gave me! She faced what must have been so many emotions to create something that I will cherish forever.
Thank you mom for not only this gift but most of all working through tough times, being faithful, loving daddy so much, raising and caring for all 5 of us, being a team with dad that made us all a family! For that I will always feel wrapped in love.