During one of my recent doomscrolling sessions, I came across a post encouraging people to put down the phone and start creating. I read it, agreed and kept scrolling. The thought keeps coming back to my mind, though, and I think that means I need to learn something from it or, as the post suggests, do something.
I come from a creative mind. My mom is an avid quilter, interior designer, carpenter — whatever she envisions, she makes happen. It’s a trait that unfortunately was not passed down to me. For the life of me, I cannot dream something up that doesn’t yet exist. Show me a Pinterest post – sure, I can attempt to replicate it. Chances are I won’t follow through with the project after my patience — or interest — runs out in the first 20 minutes.
There is a slew of half-finished projects around my house — Christmas tree skirt, a diamond art kit, embroidered panels for a quilt and so on. All started with great intentions! All forgotten because I have the attention span of a toddler.
Maybe it’s my new life as a mother, maybe it’s age, maybe I’m tired of turning to a screen in any of my spare time, but I feel a drive to create something tangible. Something that can be passed down to my kids and their kids. I’m blessed to come from a family of quilters, and I have several quilts that I cherish, including my cow quilt.
My mom made me this quilt the year we sold our cows. Faces of cows cover it, adorned with pink eartags and the control numbers of cows that had a big influence in my life. I sobbed when she gave it to me. It's one of my most prized possessions. There is so much love and so many memories sewn into it. I realize how blessed I am to have such an awesome and talented mom, and I want to be able to pass something down to my children that holds meaning for them like this. Something homemade and heartfelt. I bet if you think about your most prized possessions, a lot of them came from someone's hands full of love.
What will my generation have to pass down to their children? No one I know that is my age knows how to knit, crochet, quilt or embroider. Most of us (myself included) can barely cook. The old homemaking skills of yesteryear are no longer the standard in most families. Will they ever make a comeback?
With this renewed drive, I’m starting a few projects. Or rather, finishing what I’ve already started. Do I have the time? Probably not. But it’s a lot better than rotting my brain away while I scroll after I put my baby down every night, and hey, I might have something to give to my kids or grandkids when I’m done. Or something for me to throw away in a few years when I wonder what I was thinking.
But if any of my kin throw that cow quilt away, I will haunt them from the grave.
