This is Love

Last week, I needed to sew some patches onto the boys' dojo uniforms. Evan earned his punching patch, and Brad earned his ridiculously large coach patch. As I finished sewing, I couldn't help but smile at this little scene:

I openly admit I'm a sentimental pack rat. Brad jokes our house is where all homeless family relics come to live. But I use them! They make me happy. I can feel the love when I hold them, and I love telling the kids the stories of the items and the people who loved them.

The tin is Gram's sewing kit. I love that when I open it I can still smell her home, and I laugh at the spools with enough thread left to sew the tiniest buttons. She never wasted anything, and I hold onto those spools and smile every time I see them.

The thimble was Bushka's. She is by far the best seamstress I've ever known. I'm sure she would have plenty to say about the way I sewed those patches on, but I feel more competent just using her thimble.

And the purple sewing kit is filled with my own mishmash of things, but the empty kit was a trade with Jodie our first Christmas in NC. We swapped that sewing kit for some Christmas decorations I had that I wasn't in love with. We both thought we got the better end of the deal. Jodie taught me how to make curtains, and she's still one of my favorite people on the planet.

That's a whole lot of love and memories in that picture, and I wouldn't have it any other way.