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Sentimentality

Why Make Things?

April 18, 2011 by sue campbell

I’ve been teaching people at work to knit.  I love getting people into knitting.  It’s like getting people addicted to something that’s good for them.  But some folks have a hard time understanding why you’d take the time to knit something you can easily buy.  We were talking about learning how to knit before a meeting started and one woman commented, “I know how to buy socks at the store,” and gave me a look that told me she couldn’t think of anything that could be a bigger waste of time than making your own socks.

My answer to that comment will take a few paragraphs to explain.

With any craft —  sewing, knitting, spinning — you have to learn a few new skills.  This is good for your brain.  You get a feeling of accomplishment and a greater understanding of the way the world works. 

Next, you get to shut the rest of the world out for awhile.  Knitting and spinning are meditative endeavors.  And I’ve almost never come away from a round of knitting without an idea for something to write about.  Activities like this have a way of allowing your mind to start composting all the garbage that’s been floating around in there.  After an hour or two, you can end up with some pretty good stuff.

Then, there are the longer term benefits.  You are surrounded by items that you made.  They are exactly what you wanted.  They keep you and your loved ones warm.  They look  impressive to strangers.

Then, there are the very longest term benefits.

The other day, Ben’s parents sent us a package.  Inside was a small quilt sewn by Nora’s great grandmother.  Mary Safratowich died of cancer more than ten years ago.  She was a crafter-extraodinaire.  My mother-in-law, Deb, has saved many things she made.  Nearly every year, she passes a handmade item down to one her children, or to Nora.  A decade later, we are still enjoying things Mary made: quilts, Christmas ornaments, tapestries, hand puppets, you name it.

And these items give us an opportunity to talk about Mary with her great-granddaughter.  We tell Nora how Mary was one of the sweetest people we have ever known, and how if she were still alive, she would be doing crafts and baking yummy things with Nora every chance she got.

Shortly after I showed Nora the quilt, Nora said, “When Hoover dies, he can be my great-grandma’s dog and it will sorta be like a farm.”  I’m guessing in her little brain, our departed chickens are already in Mary’s care.  Nora is able to understand who her great-grandma was when she looks at something she made. 

So, naturally, as I sit in a chair in my living room while Nora naps, working on a lace scarf for my mom, I take comfort in knowing that, should I end up in my mom’s shoes one day — with Alzheimer’s — or, of course,  just eventually dead and gone, the items I made will remind my family of me.   They will have something I took the time to make, not something I casually purchased.  And they will remember my love for them.

Filed Under: Sentimentality Tagged With: crafting, knitting, legacy, quilting, spinning, why make things

The Tear Test

April 6, 2010 by sue campbell

I’m a big fan of sharing baby clothes. We’ve been given a whole mess of hand-me-downs for Nora. I pay it forward at every opportunity.

The four regular readers of this blog know that I am a sentimental freak.   So, it will come as no surprise that first time I started gathering up a bag of clothes for a friend’s baby, I picked up a little vintage print onesie only to have my eyes fill with tears.  That day, I made a rule, if a garment makes me cry, it goes in storage.  When I hand off a bag of clothes, I let the recipient know that they needn’t worry if anything gets ruined.  I only pass along things that I never need to see again.  I don’t need to harbor resentments towards a friend because her kid got poop stains on a party dress.

What do I plan to do with a Rubbermaid container full of potential tears?  Besides keeping it handy for a good cry, I’m saving it for Nora.  My in-laws were wonderful about saving special items from Ben’s childhood.  They have them stashed and wrap them up for us on special occasions.  I especially treasure a little pair of Osh Kosh overalls with embroidery and patches on the knees.  Someday, I’ll make a wall hanging of Ben and Nora’s baby overalls, side by side.  Whichever room I hang it in, I’ll put a cabinet right underneath, stocked with tissues.

I’m tearing up just thinking about it.  Sniff, sniff.

Filed Under: Sentimentality Tagged With: baby clothes

The True Story of a Woman Who Blubbers During Live Performances

March 15, 2010 by sue campbell

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I cry every time I’m near live music or performance.  This started about six years ago when I went to a local production of Alice in Wonderland, which featured preschoolers dancing around in flower costumes.  I was choked with quiet sobs.  At the end of the first act, I had to surreptiously use my sleeve to wipe the snot and tears off my face.
 
Since then, the same thing has happened at every public performance I’ve attended, no matter how informal.  The bluegrass band at the farmer’s market, the kid doing magic tricks outside of his family’s garage sale, the busker on the street corner doing a Cars cover, the tumbling act I saw at the Waldorf school’s Winter Faire.  Puddle. Of. Tears.
 
Why?  As near as I can tell, it has to do with watching people put themselves out there to display their talent, the judgment of others be damned — they let it rip.  I admire the hell out of that.
 
On Saturday, we took Nora to see her first musical.  It was the Oregon Children Theater’s Performance of the True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  It was delightful.  The story begins after the Big Bad Wolf has been arrested for the murder of two of the little pigs and follows his trial in a piggy court.  (Don’t worry, it’s not scary.)  The audience plays the jury.  It’s a very tight, fun script with lots of allusions to the Beatles song catalog (the three little pigs are named Desmond, Jo-Jo and Maxwell).
 
The woman at the box office had warned me that Nora might be a bit young to sit through it.  Her three year old got a bit squirmy between songs.  Not to worry, Nora was riveted from start to finish.  She was sitting on my lap through most of it, and every time I got a glimpse of her face, she was wide-eyed and grinning.  I teared up even before the first song.  Not just because of the great performances, but also the happiness of sharing something special with my daughter.
 
I see no hope of me sitting through a performance without blubbering.  And I just know that when Nora is a little older, she and my husband will have great fun mocking me for this.  Honestly, I’m rather looking forward to it.
 

Filed Under: Sentimentality Tagged With: musicals

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What kind of blog is this?

This is a blog for PARENTS. True, the writer, Sue Campbell, writes books for kids. But this blog is for grown-ups. It has some swearing and would be super boring for kids. Except for the swearing.

The PODCAST is for KIDS and PARENTS. In fact, my twelve-year-old daughter is my co-host.

If your kids like Sue's books, send them over to suecampbellbooks.com where there's some kid-friendly content. EVEN BETTER, join the mailing list. You get stuff for grown-ups and printable stuff for kids. And sometimes there will be super ill-advised giveaways or coloring contests for free books.

MORE ABOUT SUE: She makes an ACTUAL LIVING from writing words and marketing books and lives with her husband, two daughters, six chickens and one messy house rabbit in Portland, Oregon. And yes, Portland IS that weird. She really couldn't be any luckier.

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