My Grandma Bought Me A Quilting Kit

My family and I have been apart for a long time. We were a close knit bunch when I was growing up. We had tons of family get-togethers, played games, had holiday meals, played musical cars. But when I got into college, all of that changed.

The Miles Between Us

When I was accepted into my college of choice I was ecstatic. I felt like I floated the whole 1,200 mile drive there. I knew what going out of state to college meant. It meant that I was going to miss out on all the family gatherings, and it meant that I was going to grow apart from all of them. I thought I was ready to branch out on my own. I thought that once I got busy with school work, it wouldn’t hurt so much to be away from home. I was wrong.

She Knew My Heart

My grandmother was an avid quilter. She loved the feeling of creating something with her own hands. Even more than that, she loved giving her quilts away.

The miles between my grandmother and I, were long empty miles. I missed her so much, and she knew it. My grandmother, the most intuitive person I know, sent me a quilting kit. Why did she send me a quilting kit? She sent me a quilting kit because she knew that if she and I were doing the same thing at the same time, somehow we would be together. I totally loved the idea! I wanted so much to do this with her.

Unfortunately, school got in the way of our togetherness quilt. I had intended to spend hours a day piecing together the precut quilting squares that came in the quilting kit. It didn’t seem like hard project, but I just kept putting it off, and putting it off. Before I knew it, almost the entire year went by and I was still making excuses to her about why I wasn’t making the quilt.

I Broke Hers

My grandmother was the most amazing, loving, gentle woman. She was loved by everyone who knew her. She was such a giving person, and she was so forgiving. I think that is why I knew I could just keep putting the quilting off, until I felt like doing it. I figured that if I wasn’t doing my quilting kit, then she wasn’t doing hers.

Three weeks after Easter, I got the phone call that would shatter my world. My grandmother had died that night, in her sleep. I was devastated. All I could think of was the fact that I had taken advantage of her kindness all the way up to the point of her death. She died believing that I was going to make this quilt with her. She believed that I was doing my best to be with her, in spirit. All I was doing was ignoring her spirit all together. I wanted to curl up into a little ball and die.

Her Heart

The day I was supposed to leave for home and her funeral, I got a package. It was from my grandmother. Inside the box was a beautiful quilt, wrapped in tissue paper. I sat down on my bed, and just stared at the wrapped quilt in the box. After a few seconds, I reached into the box and unwrapped the quilt. At this point all I could think about was the fact that my grandmother had made this. Her loving hands crafted this quilt for me.

I stood and unfolded the quilt. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the quilt for the first time. It was a quilt she had made using the same design as the quilting kit she had sent me. The tears flowed. Despite all the lies I had spoken to her, despite all the times I took advantage of her kindness, and forgiveness she still loved me enough to create this beautiful quilt for me.