A New Mimi

“ Linus from peanuts once said that “sucking your thumb without a blanket is like eating a cone without ice cream” and while Linus, his thumb, and blanket maybe the the most famous blanket to child bond it in no way is the strongest bond.  That would be Grace and Mimi. Mimi is the blanket I made for Grace when she was born but I would never use the word blanket to describe Mimi now, it’s more of a fabric shedding piece of string. I I had known she was going to love it so much I would have treated it better when I sewed it and washed it. I find pieces of it all over the house and have been worried for some time now what I would do when the last piece of fabric was shed because over the past few years this blanket has seriously become part of the family. 

  Well on Tuesday that problem was resolved when a package arrived for Grace from her Grandma. It was a brand new mimi with the exact same fabric and dimensions of the original. Grace was ecstatic. And while she's not ready to give up sleeping with the old she'still ok carrying the new one around.

 It was kind of crazy as she opened the box. I can't quite explain the emotions I felt. My eyes watered up and I seriously couldn't talk for about 30 minutes for fear I would lose it. 

Something about seeing that blanket exactly like it was the day she was born really got me. It was as if I traveled back 7 years and I could feel exactly the same way I felt when I finished her blanket. The excitement of becoming a mom knowing my life was about to change forever. It made me think about all the goals I had set for the kind of mom I wanted to be. It then became a moment of self evaluation as I asked myself am I being that mom that I wanted to be to Grace? Do I still have the same excitement for motherhood that I had the day she was born? Have I made Grace and my other kids the focus of my life with so many opportunities for distraction for mothers in this world? Am I doing all I can to make my home a place of refuge from the world for her?

The answer of course was I can do better but at the same time I realized with Grace that I have learned to love in a way I never knew was possible. That little girl has brought me pure joy for the past 7 years. Her testimony and genuine desire to do what's right always have changed me forever. I will never understand how I was trusted to raise such an incredible spirit. I hope that I can do a better job of remembering the job with which I've been entrusted. I love her so much and hope for her birthday to give her  the best thing I can give, my time and complete focus as a mother to become that mother for her I wanted to be 7 years ago. 

                                                           Happy 7th Birthday Grace!