Tale of Two Quilts

Maggie's quilt

Usually I want to talk about plants. Or nature. Or little and big things that catch my eye. Today I can do better than all that. I got my Christmas present from my younger daughter- a beautiful handmade quilt. I know she's been working on it for months. It's her first one. She says it calms her down and she loses her worries in her work. It is a lovely combination of colors and patterns, and it is just perfect for me and my room.

Katie's quilt

This isn't the first quilt that's been made for me. Several years ago, my older daughter made me a quilt. It was also her first, and I think her last. At least so far. It too has lovely warm colors and patterns, very much like the new one, and also perfect for my room.
So now I have two quilts, handmade as labors of love, to keep me warm. The transition has been steady, and is now mostly complete. It used to be my job to bind their threads into the fabric of a family; to wrap them with soft strong surrounds; to keep them warm and protected. And to slowly let them go.
My girls are all grown up. There's a little bit of bittersweet pleasure in that idea. They have selected schools, careers, homes, pets, friends, loves. They have stitched those choices together into very personal and unique patterns. They are beautiful, intelligent, accomplished women- different as night and day- and each the love of my life. They fit me perfectly.  I am still Mom, but will now rest wrapped in the beautifully crafted biographies of my capable girls. These quilts are already heirlooms. I will happily hold them in trust for the generations to come.

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.  A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom.  The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.
  ~Sloan Wilson