Tuesday, December 22, 2009

A Family Heirloom ...the gift of many colors

What do you give your Mom that has it all. I don't mean everything material, but the things that are important, she has. Now how many Holidays do you pretend slippers,lotion, or a new movie that is on DVD is the perfect fit? She can only wear so many earrings!. What  about photos of the kids or family? well she lives with us, so she has those by default. I was just not sure what I was to do for her this year to make it special. Being that she was on her Mission last Christmas and she came home to Hawaii only long enough to help me pack boxes and  to contemplate yet another move. I  really wanted this Christmas to be memorable. Her spirit was so spiritually grounded, that of a return Missionary and I sure needed that upon her arrival and loved her even more for it. Now I am going to tell you a little bit about My Mom Kathy and My Mother in Law Dottie.After my Father in Law Roger passed away October of 2006,my Mother in Law Dottie  had slipped into a Coma the day after his burial.. . Dottie woke up from her nine day Coma on a Tuesday and  she remembered me telling her that if she could get well enough to come out of the Hospital, my Mother offered to come and live with her as her care giver so she could be in her own home. My Mom was my Hero in that time of need. You see we were living in Idaho and running a restaurant and 4 kids in school, I could not be in San Francisco with Dottie, but My Mom could .And it was my Mom's idea to do so. So it was a Tuesday night and Dottie had been in the Hospice wing for people who were shutting down.No tubes,no meds, just nurses care. On the 9th day, she woke up around 6pm called for the nurse, asked what day it was, where are her sons and she wanted a diet coke and turn on Dancing With The Stars.!!! And in that order she was on the phone with us and the first thing she asked me was when is my Mother "Kathy" coming to get her out of the Hospital?. Kathy my Mom was on a plane that same week on Friday. She went to the Hospital everyday to be with Dottie, she lived at the house to take care of the daily things like mail, water the plants etc, and get it ready for Dottie's return. Dottie was home within 2 weeks of my Mom's arrival and was able to stay at home with the help of my Mom and in home Nurses that would come weekly. Dottie's stayed home for almost a month, but by Christmas, she had returned to the Hospital due to her failing health,. I know Dottie was very happy to of returned home even for that brief time.You see I promised her she would not have to go to a nursing home and with the love and care of my Mom Kathy, I was able to keep that Promise. Dottie passed away January 4th 2007 in the Hospital.  So this afternoon, Makinsee and I put together a  Quilt that is made from some of  Dottie's  silk scarves that she loved to wear . I saved only the ones that were roughly the same size and of good quality. I thought it would mean a little more to my Mom that this Quilt was made from Dottie's scarf collection and from her daughter and Granddaughter. So when you see all the different colors, they do not all match, but they are all silk and full of lovely colors. Dottie loved flowers and colors, especially Red and Vibrant Blues. Dottie's eyes were a gorgeous blue and it was a wonderful contrast to her Raven hair, she was half Swedish and half Hungarian..  Makinsee and I just finished this tonight  and  it was really good quality time with her especially to teach her the basics of sewing '1A" and I mean basic. But it is the thought right?!?!?! My Mom won't see it until Christmas morning....so shhhhh...keep our Santa secret and I hope she likes it?  
DOTTIE AND ROGER 2006  
           








3 comments:

  1. Thank you Williams Family for sharing the beautiful collections.Wish you all a Happy Merry Xmas n New Year.

    Keep Smiling!
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  2. Brandi...that is such a beautiful story and that quilt, wow wow...I would so love to be a fly on the wall on Christmas when your mom receieve her gift. I know she's going to be totally thrilled with it and of course it's going to mean so much more to her that the quilt was made by her loving daughter and granddaughter and made from your MIL's silk scarf. Thanks for sharing this...very touching.

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  3. What a very special quilt indeed. I love that the sizes are not all matchy matchy. It makes for a much more interesting pattern and what a story to go with it. You are a blessed woman with both mothers and now you can pass that quilt down with to your beautiful daughters.

    May

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