Mothers & Daughters

On Friday night, one of the mom's in our "Mother/Daughter" group held a sleepover birthday party at a local hotel suite. It was the group's second sleepover in just a few weeks, and there was much focus on nails by the "9 and under crowd" at both sleepovers.

This "Mother/Daughter" group is comprised of 5 mothers and 5 daughters who are all in the same grade at the same school together. In fact, the mothers met each other through this school association. We are from Arkansas, Chicago, Nebraska, Louisiana, and Tennessee. We are all totally different, but OH, HOW MUCH FUN we have together! And, oh, how much we learn from each other. And, oh, how much we support each other. These women and girls are my life-lines, and I love them all.

My mother died almost 20 years ago. November always makes me think of her more than usual because of All Saint's Day, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and the pensive quality that autumn brings to my life. This year, it has dawned on me how my life is mirroring a little bit of hers at this 40ish stage of life. I remember her becoming so interested in lots of activities like gardening, flower and herb drying, knitting, sewing, embroidery, and dying fabrics with natural plant dyes. And, what am I doing? Hmmmm, it sounds familiar. Where does this burst of creativity come from?

This weekend, I also spent several hours knitting with friends. I hosted a knitting gathering at my house to teach a couple of people how to knit and to help some learn the log-cabin knitting process. This morning at church, the St. Clare's Knitting Guild helped the level 3 Catechesis students learn how to knit hats. What fun to be in a mix of generations with other women and girls (and a few boys) gathered around a common task of creativity.

Finally, here is my finished bird banner. There is one bird for each member of my family (4 people, 2 cats, 1 dog, and one fish). The little bird at the top represents all of those who have gone on-- Maggie the black German shepherd, Uncle Jerry, grandparents, and my mom. Going in and out of the back door is now a little reminder to me of the ties that bind us all together in this little nest of family here and beyond.