Memories ...........

Today Jared, Lindsay and I finished our dye day as we bagged the fibre from Jared's last accomplishments. As we sat we talked about family -Jared and Lindsay are so lucky to have so much family who love them Jared commented on. I told him yes he was -he then started asking about the pictures on the wall - the one he really noticed was one of myself, my mom and my grandmother on my wedding day -he commented it was like fast forwarding to show all the different stages of a life. How right he was.
Today marks the 9th year of my grandmother "Beppe's" passing. Not a day goes by I don't think of her -she was an original do it all woman - she was wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother when she passed. In her 92 years on this earth she witnessed so much and never lost sight of the things that mattered. She witenessed great horrors and wonderful joys in her lifetime. My favorite picture is her holding out her arms to hold Jared. The picture we have in his room is her hands old and workworn being held by perfect little fingers just starting to learn how to take life by the horns.
At 43 she immigrated from The Netherlands to Canada with my uncles who were grown men and my mom who was only three. She taught herself to speak English listening to the radio and later on read when my mom came home with schoolwork. She worked hard all her life -she could sew- was a seamstress by profession, knit (I still treasure my Beppe sweaters and socks), crochet, embroider, and spin. She was an avid gardener and her flowers were always a thing of beauty. And best of all she could cook and bake. Some of my best memories were of a bowl of soup, a fresh bun and later on some cake and cookies all while sitting at a kitchen table and talking. Our days were filled with crafts, laughter and most of all love. She carried on for 16 years alone after my grandfather passed away -she never lost sight of heaven and that they would be together again there someday. Her faith was incredible, her strength immense and her love never ending.
She was without a doubt the most important influence on my life. She was my friend, confidant and mentor. Every important event minus one in my life she was there. Lindsay carries her name -a fact she doesn't like but I wanted my daughter to have something of this wonderful woman whom she would never meet. She watched me grow up, helped me grieve when my grandfather passed, smiled at my wedding, was there to hold my firstborn child.
I know she is still with us in spirit - I feel her presence often, when I sit to spin, struggle to knit or sit in my garden in quiet reflection.

Funny how things come full circle sometimes. Today we sat at the kitchen table -ate fresh buns and soup and later on made cookies from a recipe written in a beautiful spidery script and most of all we felt loved and blessed to be part of a circle that never truly ends. I hope someday when my kids look back they will remember that day with a smile.