My brother Tony and his wife Dena gave me a special gift for Christmas 2008. This was just after the first anniversary of our Mother's death. I wrote about it in my personal blog that year. I decided to share it here as well.
Tony and Dena presented me with a very special Christmas gift... as I opened the box, I was nearly speechless. I was pleasantly surprised to receive this quilt. This is no ordinary quilt. This quilt was sewn from cotton pieces cut from my late Mother's "moo-moo's".
Mom stayed at home most of the time. Therefore, she dressed comfortably; she wore roomy cotton dresses which she called her "moo-moo's". Each year for Mother's Day or Christmas, I would buy Mom a moo-moo because I knew how much she enjoyed wearing them. Some of these cotton dresses were simple, yet a few were more dressy with weaved designs, embroidery or small rhinestones on the yoke. Since she rarely left her apartment, Mom would save the dressy ones to wear in public.
Weeks after Mom's death, Tony asked me to ship him some of Mom's moo-moo's. I sorted them out and chose one to keep to myself and gave one to my sister, then shipped the remaining ones to Tony. I placed the moo-moo I decided to keep in a clear plastic bag and tucked it away in a chest full of memoirs from Mom's life.
Tony delivered the box of Mom's dresses to a lady who designs memory quilts. He had quilts made for each of Mom's children and for Dad. What a loving and thoughtful gesture! As I opened the gift and unfolded the quilt, reflections of Mom were envisioned through my eyes. As I ran my fingers over the colorful squares of cotton, I remembered Mom wearing the various dresses. I remembered her favorite everyday moo-moo's were the green and blue plaid one and the rust colored one. I remembered she wore the black and gold paisley dress, or the black and white floral one when she went to town. The blue and white striped moo-moo was a sailor design with small sailing boats embroidered on the yoke.
I will treasure this memory quilt for the rest of my life. Thank you, Tony and Dena, for your thoughtful gift and for bringing back a part of Mom... through memories that will last a lifetime.
From my personal blog, originally written December 15, 2008
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