At the risk of being considered a sissy by those of hard-nosed countenance, I have a paean to offer. The pianist and I use on our beds, blankets our respective mothers made over 40 years ago for us. They are used in praise , remembrance and talismanic connection to our past.
The pianist's blanket her mother made is a soft blue, brown and white in a zigzag pattern strictly uniform, crocheted, crisp and perfectly preserved . My mother's blanket for me was a looser, block knit, tan, brown and orange with a touch of white and tasseled. Both are beautifully finished as could be expected by these women in their late 70's at that time. My blanket is smaller than the blanket of the pianist since my mother was more impatient than her mother, so would have quit a bit earlier in the process to do other things . When my mother provided me with my satin smooth blanket in infancy that I used until I was three, it was my talisman. It was her breast when I slept alone and gave me comfort and safety.. My mother went away for three weeks and my auntie Mildred looked after me. She said to me , "Jim you are a big boy now you are three. You don't need a blanket any more. " And she took it away. Blanket gone, mother gone, I had to be brave. When Robert Munch wrote his book about his mother called "Love You Forever " it stunned me with its beauty and gave meaning again to the meaning of motherhood and the continuity of love and care through life for one another.
The blanket for the bed and chair today gives warmth and comfort and a curious embrace that reflects what they gave to us long ago, along with a continuity with the past the blankets still provide. Why did I not realize that the many years after my life at age three, were so dangerous till I rediscovered the gift from my mother in my latter years and have become safe again ? What incredible dangers the pianist and I encountered during those times in life where we neglected to credit blanket power ! It's never too late to learn anew, what you only knew as an infant. Safe at last !
The pianist's blanket her mother made is a soft blue, brown and white in a zigzag pattern strictly uniform, crocheted, crisp and perfectly preserved . My mother's blanket for me was a looser, block knit, tan, brown and orange with a touch of white and tasseled. Both are beautifully finished as could be expected by these women in their late 70's at that time. My blanket is smaller than the blanket of the pianist since my mother was more impatient than her mother, so would have quit a bit earlier in the process to do other things . When my mother provided me with my satin smooth blanket in infancy that I used until I was three, it was my talisman. It was her breast when I slept alone and gave me comfort and safety.. My mother went away for three weeks and my auntie Mildred looked after me. She said to me , "Jim you are a big boy now you are three. You don't need a blanket any more. " And she took it away. Blanket gone, mother gone, I had to be brave. When Robert Munch wrote his book about his mother called "Love You Forever " it stunned me with its beauty and gave meaning again to the meaning of motherhood and the continuity of love and care through life for one another.
The blanket for the bed and chair today gives warmth and comfort and a curious embrace that reflects what they gave to us long ago, along with a continuity with the past the blankets still provide. Why did I not realize that the many years after my life at age three, were so dangerous till I rediscovered the gift from my mother in my latter years and have become safe again ? What incredible dangers the pianist and I encountered during those times in life where we neglected to credit blanket power ! It's never too late to learn anew, what you only knew as an infant. Safe at last !
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