Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Happy New Year to all my followers and all my Best Wishes to you for a happy, prosperous and productive 2013!Today is a day for reflecting only fleetingly on the past year and more importantly, on what's to come in the New Year.
There are many joys during the holidays, getting together with family among the most important. Happily, we had the entire immediate family at our house this year. As the grandchildren grow so quickly, it is important to make the most of that opportunity. Soon they will want to stay home and enjoy Christmas morning in their own house. I still, all these years later, remember the first time we decided to go to Grandma and Grandpa's houses (two sets of grandparents in one state) for Christmas with the kids.
We lived in South Florida and made the trek to Indiana with the kids, dog and gifts in tow. As I recall, the girls were young enough that we were able to hide Santa's gifts fairly easily. I don't remember all the details of this trip and I think it went pretty smoothly, although it was exhausting to have two Christmases in two cities with two sets of grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles. What I do remember is that it was the year in which we decided all future Christmases would be spent at home!
I completely understand my daughter's wish to start traditions for her own children and to stay at home for Christmas morning next year. She and her husband want to enjoy the sparkle in their kids eyes and the joy and excitement of Santa's arrival in their own home. I have a year to begin planning for that reality and to figure out where we will fit into the picture.
For now, I am basking in the success of a special gift I crocheted for Chloe this year. She has loved Minnie Mouse since she was 3 and 1/2 and her second birthday party was planned around a Minnie theme. Back in September, I got the idea to make her a Minnie blanket. I searched around the Internet and ended up buying a graph from Cozy Crochet Concepts: . I worked on this Tapestry Crochet project for over two months. I was glad I started in plenty of time to get it finished well before Christmas.
Since the package was fairly large, she wanted to open it first. It is not always the best idea to open the biggest package first, I've learned from experience. Once open and spread out, she smiled and said, "It's Minnie" and then moved on to the next one! Her birthday is near Thanksgiving, so she is expert in opening presents and thinks all presents are for her.
Did I expect her to run to me with a big hug and say "Thank you, Gigi; that's the best present ever"? No, she is only three, after all. My daughter loved the blanket and I know it will be treasured in the years to come. What I do expect is that the effort, talent and love that went into making the blanket will be appreciated for years to come and maybe even passed down to a future generation. It was made with pride and the joy is in the making. It was given with love and the stitches will endure. From there, my job is done.
Later that day, I was able to convince Chloe to pose for a picture with her Minnie blankie. Say cheese!
And after all is said and done, what's more fun, playing with all those shiny new toys or having fun in a sturdy cardboard box with little brother?
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