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| Knitting a story together |
Diane's speech to Mom:
In order to be an accomplished
knitter one has to understand a few important details. Being my mom is similar
however children don't come with instructions as knitters always have a pattern
to follow.
First of all in order to knit you
usually need two needles. In life we
know it takes two to start a family and we all know that my mom and dad got
that part right!
In knitting you start by casting on
stitches, then you connect the yarn from needle to needle. My mom and dad cast on three children and
together we added three spouses and six grandchildren. In knitting terms you would see k2tog, that
means knit two stitches together and now there are 2 great grandchildren.
In the fabric of life just like in
knitting you have to work your pattern evenly. It is called gauge. You don't
want your stitches too tight or too loose and this is not always easy to do!
You want to be in total control.
Hmm...now that sounds just like my mom!
She knit us together so well, and we all know what a close knit family
we have become. Some of us live in
different states however we are all connected just like the stitches on her
needles.
There are two basic knitting
stitches: the knit stitch and the purl.
You can see the difference as the purl has a little bump in the front.
It represents the little bumps in the road that every family has to endure. My
mom has had her share, but she has continued to knit and keep us together in
spite of these challenges and losses.
My mom has
knit blankets, vests, sweaters, hats, scarves, socks and ponchos to keep us
warm. Most of them are done on two
needles. Her biggest, most recent labor
of love was an extra large afghan, knit using a round needle. With this special needle she created the
circle of life, as the afghan will allow Garret, Jessica and Juliet to cuddle
up on warm nights. By the way she
previously made one for Jaime, Scott and Henry. Anyone here who has received a
handmade gift from my mom knows that it was made with love, it might keep you
warm, it will stay with you forever and it makes you a part of her close knit
world. If she hasn't made you something let her know, she loves a project.
Some other things my 85 year old mom
can do besides knit are:
Use a computer, send email, forward
email, use Facebook , print pictures, work a DVD, work a DVR, use a cell phone
and retrieve messages, read on a Kindle, drive to the knitting store, cook a
turkey, order a Millburn Deli sandwich, never miss a Friday with Tommy, scratch
off and win a lottery ticket, write a thank you note....one could say she's a
Jack of all trades!
It seems every five years we gather
to celebrate my mother's birthday! This
year Mom has both of her great grand
children Henry and Juliet to share her special day. It doesn't get better than that.
Mitchell took you to see Bruce
Springsteen however I had Paul McCartney name his daughter Beatrice after you
I guess in your day we'd be seeing
Frank Sinatra.
I also arranged to have a character
named Ginsberg on Mad Men!
Speaking of Mad Men that of course is
the era we grew up during and I know how much you love the show. The fellows at Sterling Cooper Draper Price
all regret that they are too busy creating too join us today. Personally I think they are full of Hamm and
beans! Happy Birthday Mom!
