A few years after we bought our first house in 1995--so probably around 1998?--we inherited bunkbeds from Brad's mom for Teeny Ben and Not-So-Big Tucker. Money was really tight in those days, but I wanted them to have matching comforters. My mom was visiting for a week, so I took advantage of her mad quilting skills and planned a quilt-tying project. I took advantage of my best friend, Karen, and enlisted her skills and borrowed her quilt frames.
Not being able to afford much, I bought four twin-size flannel sheets on clearance, one king-sized bat cut in half, and a skein of red yard--for two quilts I'm sure I spent less than $40 because I remember the sheets were $3.57 apiece. The three of us tied two quilts while six little kiddos (Karen's three and my first three) ran under the quilt, or pretended it was a fort, or cried when we ignored them and quilted for too long.
What a great memory.
When I woke Hyrum up for scriptures last week, I noticed the state of the last surviving quilt. Its brother was thrown away a few years ago, loved until it was full of holes and threadbare.
It may be time for the surviving quilt to join its brother. And it makes me sad.Think about how much of my family's life this quilt has seen:
- How many books read with a flashlight beneath it when Mom said, "Lights out!" (This may be the last one.)
- How many forts it created--books precariously stacked on its edges
- How many movie nights
- How many tuck-in times
- How many pretend games of "house"
- How many legos and Goldfish crackers hidden in its folds
- How many times Mom begged it to be made
- How many bedtime stories
- How many deep talks
- How many adventures on the lawn or at the park
- How many drops from a humidifier or doses of cold medicine
- How many early morning scripture times it was dragged off a bed because someone needed a few extra minutes of cozy
- How many sleepovers
- How many cold nights backstage at the Easter pageant
- How many tears and snotty noses it's wiped
Seven kids and 22 years.
That's a lot of cozy.
I feel like I owe it a deep Marie Kondo "Thank you for your service" ceremony. If I can bring myself to say goodbye.
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