Something Old

Something Old

Something old,

something new.

Just how do you express 30 years of emotion? How do you connect generations and meaningful moments? 

These are the questions that have been swirling about in my head since my daughter, Jessica, announced she was getting married. I am sure many of you other parents understand all the emotions that this milestone evokes from us. 

What I kept coming back to was the memories of when she was born; the connections and bonds that were made. Normal, I suppose. We see all the years flash in front of us. The strongest memory I have of my daughter's first two years is the relationship she had with my mother-her grandmother.

Perhaps it is life experience that has taught me that the greatest value in life is not objects but the relationships we have and the quality of the present moment. Things come and go. They can all be taken away from us, at any given moment, as easily as we received them. Just as life can be.

Just how am I to show my daughter all that she means to me? Then it struck me. 

It certainly did not all come together at once, it took months for me to figure it all out. 

Honoring her request to have her wedding "on a budget" and following her lead in doing things herself, I thought making a couple of pillows to accent her choice in decor and seating would be fun. But not just  pillows, these were going to be special pillows with lots of love behind them. 

I invited my granddaughter, Lillee, over for some "wedding sewing" fun. How nice would it be to include her daughter in this project? 

As we sewed and stuffed, we talked about how mommy and daddy were getting married, how special the day was going to be for her family, how love creates family and family creates love.

The big day is almost upon us. It is time to present the simple pillows.

These simple pillows are not as simple as they look. They have layers of meaning. The burlap is not just a random piece of burlap. So my dear daughter, Jessica, these are made by your mother and daughter from an old potato sack your father (who adopted you) has saved for many years. Which is a perfect way to symbolize both his and your departed grandmother's presence in your life. She was very, very proud of her Aroostook County potato field roots. She adored potato sacks and barrels. She loved you very much. The bond you shared shined so brightly we could all see the glow. 

I hope that as my daughter sits against these pillows, she feels the support from the hands that made them, the soft love from an old fibers that have woven into the fabric of her life. May the threads that connect cushion her in all ways, always. 

Something old for something new...