I was on the hunt for a hoodie I made my youngest when she was just a baby (another story for another day) and ended up surrounded by open memory boxes full of treasures and nostalgia. It's times like these when I am thankful I kept those little cards and notes from different people on different occasions along the way. Even my memory box is a keepsake in itself reminding me of my first Christmas with my husband. It was my thoughtful and kind husband who made me my recycled wooden memory box that I just adore. I had talked about making a memory box one day and he surprised me with one he made himself - now that's love!! And the little green card attached to the inside of the lid and the red bow you can see are from that very day left where they were placed...
Looking through my memory box I found the 'K' my Mum embroidered for me when I was a child and it took me straight back to that home and that time in my life and made me smile for the many happy memories that came flooding back - tree climbing and creek explorations, swimming at the school pool in summer and learning the joys of lying in bed longer on a Saturday and reading with the sun streaming through the old wooden windows, cops and robbers with my bestie and her fascinating older brothers who lived across the road (I didn't have brothers or older siblings so it was very fascinating indeed) and dances made up in the lounge with all the furniture pushed back and Mum patiently listening to the same Footloose track over and over.
And right up there in the favourite memories along with my favourite climbing tree at our home where I spent hours up high above the world and the 'Spaghetti Club' climbing tree at school (for which I was the treasurer) is my Mum's sewing room. I remember the sun streaming in through the windows, the white wooden cupboards that went from floor to ceiling as they do in old houses just inside the door and the white wooden bench top that went along two walls. I remember a Holly Hobby bag (or was it a box?) and the button box which in itself was like finding buried treasure.
I remember being in awe at how clever my Mum was and what she created in that magical room and wanting so much to be just like her when I got older. I remember her making these beautiful dolls with petticoats, bloomers, dresses, aprons and even little shoes and I so desperately wanted one and can remember the longing so clearly. And it was in that very sewing room that I designed and created my first project - the bunny keyring. I just loved working out how I was going to put it all together and coming up with own pattern (of sorts). I was so proud of this little bunny and remember taking it to school to show my friends and even clipping it on my bag! And this is where it all began for me and my journey with sewing and creating. Just think if my Mum hadn't been willing to let me explore and experiment and try it on my own would I have discovered the joys of creating and sewing?
For each of my own girls I also have a memory box (but let's be honest I have way more than one box for each of them!) that has a few mementos from when they were babies. A little nappy (not used!), the pregnancy record book that the midwives fill out along the way, booties and socks, crocheted sheepskin slippers (love those!!), favourite pieces of clothing and anything else that struck me at the time as a keepsake. The girls just love looking inside their boxes at the little things they used to wear, their faces lighting up with joy followed by a stream of constant questions and the begging of stories about them as babies - not that my memory likes to play ball and we have to refer to the journals as I can't remember which one did what for a lot of things! But my not so great memory for their baby days aside I am so thankful that I kept these treasures for them to delight over again and again - and also for the journals that hold the details they love!!
Sometimes in our busy lives, rushing from one commitment to another, wondering when we will ever have a moment to breathe without hyperventilating from all the things still left to do, it is refreshing and restorative to take a good old meander down memory lane...
Take care and till then
