Do it... now!

Hi folks, Colleen here!

So I had planned to write a blog post today.  Fortunately Elisabeth's life has allowed her to make the last few posts herself, but I don't want her to have to worry about keeping things fresh.  Anyway, I didn't really have a great idea for something to write.  I probably would have just given a progress update on the shawl.

And then the phone rang. 

It was my mother-in-law, informing me that a "Grandma A" passed away unexpectedly this morning.  She wasn't my grandmother, or my husband's.  In fact, I don't think I can really label what her exact relation to me is.  My best guess would be "stepgrandmother-in-law".  You know, one of those people that ends up in your family as a result of the unusual family structures that are part of life today.

What I will say is that she was a wonderful person.  Always sweet and kind, never a bad word about anyone.  I often found myself spending time with her at family gatherings, while the two hurricanes that are my children were off playing with their cousins.  We would sit together and watch Food Network or HGTV, and I would knit.  And she would ask about my knitting, always with a kind remark about whatever the current project was.

Butterflies for Grandma A
modeled by the older hurricane

Last New Year's Day, we were doing just that.  We were sitting together, watching the Rose Parade.  I was working on something (who knows what, too many projects to keep track of).  She asked me about it.  And then she asked me how much work it would be to make a hat.  She mentioned that she often gets cold and she thought that a knitted hat might be just the thing to keep the chill away.  I, of course, wholeheartedly agreed!  By the time the chocolate pie was finished, she had decided on a color, and my mind was already at the yarn shop. 

Within two weeks, the hat was finished (the Butterfly Hat by Sofiya Kremin), and I gave it to my mother-in-law to pass along to Grandma A.  Later that week, I got the first and only phone call I would ever receive from her.  She had just gotten the hat and was absolutely thrilled.  The joy in her voice warmed my heart more than the hat would ever warm her head.  Over the weeks to come, my mother-in-law commented several times how much Grandma A loved the hat.

Earlier today, after hearing the sad news, my first thought was "I'm so glad I made her that hat".  It was the kind of project that could have easily been pushed aside.  The fact that it was one of the quickest projects she could have asked for probably played a large part in actually getting it done.  But what matters is, it DID get done.  And she loved AND used it.  And I find comfort in that.

So my advice is "Do it... now!"  It doesn't have to be a knitting project, it could be anything.  We've all heard the stories of regret from people who didn't take the time to hug, kiss, call, write... and then never got the chance to.  So I'm going to go hug my little hurricanes!