Always.
They came from a generation of women born between 1910-1920 who never succumbed to the purchase and subsequent wearing of pants or heaven forbid, jeans. I never saw either of them wear anything but dresses. It was just the way they were.
They actually had similar tastes in dress styles with both of them in their later years wearing ones made from a nice cotton and polyester blend, short sleeved and a couple of buttons down the front. Mom always called them her "zip and dash dresses" although I really don't remember why. Both of them loved dresses that were colorful with patterns of stripes, checks, or flowers. I can still close my eyes and remember them standing there side by side, adorned by fashion that pretty much described the kind of women they were.
When Mom passed away in 2007, her closet at the nursing home was filled with those kinds of dresses and pretty colored sweaters to go with them on days when the weather outside was a bit on the chilly side. The strange thing was that those dozens of dresses had very little wear to show on them. In her later months, Mom was more comfortable with wearing just a select few, rotating them in and out of the laundry. When she passed away, we went through her clothes and thought that perhaps it might serve good purpose to leave them there for others who might come in and could use them.
And so we did.
Fast forward nearly 10 years later. Mom's only living sister, my sweet Aunt Beck, passed away at the very precious age of 103 years. After her death, her children went through her life's possessions doing much the same as my siblings and I did when we lost our mom. It's not easy to do that sometimes but it is a necessary task that we must undertake, especially in sad times like the loss of a parent.
It hurts like crazy.
Thankfully her daughter had a good idea and one that would provide a gift to me that would be honored and revered for the rest of my life. Yesterday when I went to the cemetery to visit not only my parents's graves but Aunt Beck's as well, I was given the most beautiful piece of handiwork I believe I have ever owned. I could have cried to open the box that it was in and the minute I saw it, I knew what it was made from.
~the material from my Aunt Beck's beautiful dresses~
I can look at each of those squares and just about imagine her sitting there in her gray rocker recliner, holding my hand and talking to me. Our visits were really special and after moving away from Kansas in 2013, I tried my best to be sure and see her every single chance I could when I came home. It was important to me to check in on her and keep her up to date on all the happenings with our side of the family. I knew that I would perhaps be too far away when the time came and she was gone, so it became very important to me to see her every time I could while she was still alive.
And so I did.
My Aunt Beck was one of my role models, an example of what a woman could do and become in life. I loved many things about her like her gentle spirit and kind ways. I hope that some of that rubbed off on me and that people can see a bit of her in the woman that I became.
I'm not much into material things these days. The accumulation of stuff no longer interests me. Most possessions that I have could be easily given away and I would never miss them. Not once. There are however a handful of things that I will never part with and shall cherish until my own dying day.
Aunt Beck's gift to me is one of them.
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