If you didn’t notice it, please go back and look at the photo for this post.<\/p>\n
You’re back? Good.<\/p>\n
As long as you didn’t cheat, you saw a photo of a well-worn handmade quilt.\u00a0 I love that quilt.\u00a0 I use it when i watch TV.<\/p>\n
My grandma made that quilt for me.\u00a0 I can’t remember exactly when I got it, but if I had to guess it was somewhere around my high school graduation.\u00a0 \u00a0So, it’s 30 to 35 years old.\u00a0 It’s been repaired a couple times but as you can tell that was 20+ years ago.\u00a0 Sadly, my grandma has been gone for close to 20 years, so no one is going to repair it again.<\/p>\n
Some people would be horrified that I’m still using it at all.\u00a0 They would say I should have it locked away in a chest or maybe displayed on a wall in a dark room.\u00a0 But I’m not going to do either one. Why?\u00a0 Because that’s not what my grandma would have wanted.\u00a0 She didn’t think she was making art (of course she was).\u00a0 \u00a0She made me something to keep me warn.\u00a0 She made it with her own hands (and a little help from my grandpa) thinking about me using it to keep myself warm. \u00a0Not to lock away and think about once in a blue moon.\u00a0 I don’t mind the frayed or faded fabrics.\u00a0 I think they give it character.<\/span><\/p>\n Almost all of us have a grandma’s quilt.\u00a0 Maybe it’s a special dress (or lingerie) you’re saving for the perfect occasion.\u00a0 Maybe it’s grandma’s dishes or your aunt’s candlesticks you inherited that you never use.\u00a0 Maybe it’s the earrings your parents gave you when you graduated.<\/p>\n Whatever it is- USE IT.<\/p>\n Do you really think your parents\/ grandparents\/ etc. really want you to just haul their gifts around every time you move and then never think about them until you move again?\u00a0 \u00a0Think about gifts you’ve given.\u00a0 You expect the recipient to use and enjoy them, right?\u00a0 \u00a0You’d probably be a bit offended if you discovered that book you gave your brother is in a box in the attic because he’s waiting for the perfect occasion to look at it.<\/p>\n It’s the same with gifts you have received.\u00a0 The giver passing on doesn’t change the usefulness or the thoughtfulness of the gift.\u00a0 Your parents\/ grandparents\/ etc. would be rolling over in their graves if they knew their passing made the presents they took time and money to choose for you off limits forever.<\/p>\n How do I know this?<\/p>\n My grandpa was a master wood worker.\u00a0 \u00a0For my 10th birthday he made me a jewelry box.\u00a0 \u00a0At his 90th birthday party we set up a small display of some of our favorite items he’s made for us over the years and I took my jewelry box.\u00a0 Grandpa offered to make me a new one- he said he could make a much nicer one now.\u00a0 I told him absolutely not- I was (and still am) perfectly happy with the one I’ve had since I was 10.\u00a0 He was truly, deeply touched that I still treasured- and more importantly was still using- something he had crafted for me so long before.<\/p>\n Yes, that nearly 45 year old walnut box is still where my jewelry lives today.\u00a0 \u00a0Not just because it fits nicely on my dresser.\u00a0 Because that’s what grandpa wanted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you didn’t notice it, please go back and look at the photo for this post. You’re back? Good. As long as you didn’t cheat, you saw a photo of a well-worn handmade quilt.\u00a0 I love that quilt.\u00a0 I use it when i watch TV. My grandma made that quilt for me.\u00a0 I can’t remember exactly when I got it,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice","category-its-all-love"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t