Roses from Mom

Today is my mom’s birthday. Yesterday afternoon, the girls and I went over to spend some time with her to celebrate. It ended up that we stayed much longer than I had planned because my brother’s family also stopped by, and the girls were having so much fun with their cousins that I wanted to let them play as long as possible. Mom had cooked a large turkey yesterday afternoon to make room in her freezer, and so we had an impromptu family dinner of turkey, corn, and salad…and the children had cookies and PBJ sandwiches for dessert. So, we didn’t arrive home until bedtime. I fear that we made my mom so tired that she won’t be able to enjoy her birthday today, though. We will be celebrating with my parents and family again on Saturday night. Because my Dad taught at a Bible school in Minnesota every winter for the past 23 of 25 years, we weren’t able to celebrate with her in person for those years. Last year, was the first year that they didn’t go because mom was too ill—she went for months with undiagnosed fungal pneumonia. Finally, the doctor admitted her to the hospital for tests, and the fungal pneumonia was diagnosed. It’s been a long road to recovery.

In honor of her birthday, I am sharing with you this quilt of embroidered roses that she stitched in her mid-late teens and gave to me over ten years ago.

As I look at it, I consider the hours of work that when into this quilt. And it wasn’t as though mom didn’t have other things to do—she was very active with helping my grandparents on their dairy farm and in helping with the chores in the house as well. With three younger brothers, she had a lot of cooking and cleaning and gardening to help with in addition to the farm chores.

And Grandmother hand-quilted it for her. (Just look at those tiny stitches!) Although the year is not recorded, the quilt appears as number 15 on the list of quilts that Grandmother wrote in her binder that I pictured at the end of the post that you can find here.

This picture was one that I took and posted on Facebook in July 2009 with this description:

Quilt that my mom made when she was 18. The bed is from one of my great-great aunts and my grandparents used it for many years. The frame was sitting in my grandparents' basement until a few years ago when they offered it to me. I just had it sandblasted and refinished, and my family brought it over to my new home.

She actually finished the embroidery when she was 18, but probably worked on it throughout the years before. Although she doesn’t remember for sure, I wonder if she started it when she was recovering from a bad case of mono when she was 16, which was also the year that she lost her dearest friend/cousin in a tragic car accident. I wonder how many tears were spilled in grief as she stitched it over the next couple of years.

When she brought the quilt to me in 2009, I was completely surprised and felt honored that she was giving it to me to use. The beauty of the quilt brightened the dark, cold basement apartment that I was in at that time, and provided warmth and comfort every night as I snuggled under it.

Now, both of my daughters frequently request that I use the quilt on their twin-size and toddler beds, respectively. I tell them that they have to be older before they can use it. But it warms my heart that they treasure it as much as I do.

Until they are old enough to use it on their bed (eventually, we will set up that bed frame again in their shared room), I will hang the quilt on a quilt hanger (that my brother made for me when I was sixteen) on their bedroom wall.

Thanks again, Mom, and happy birthday. Love you.