THE OLD SEWING BOX

Some of the most important parts of my home decor are the things that were passed down to me from my family.

I feel very blessed to have them, and also to be able to see many of them in my two daughters' homes who also love them. 

Last week when I was sorting through some things in my closet I came across my mom's old sewing box.

First, let me say that my mother did not sew. She tried to say it bothered her eyes, but I think the truth of the matter was that she just didn't like it.

I think she probably got her sewing box around the time she got married in 1946.

She was a stay-at-home wife and mother and like most women of her time, she needed to cook, clean, and sew. She excelled in the first two domestic arts, but she never developed a love of sewing. 

She may have occasionally sewed on a button, but I don't even remember that. She did have the sewing box, and she had it until her death when it came into my possession. 

I love sewing and other needlecrafts. I remember when I was nine years old, a friend of my mother's taught me simple embroidery and took me with her to her house where she went up into the attic and brought down a box of embroidery floss. 

I remember looking at all of the beautiful colors and saying I didn't know how to choose one. Oh no, she said, "they are all yours".

I felt like I had never received such a wonderful gift. 

That was a memory I hadn't thought of in a long time, but when I pulled that sewing box from the back of my closet it came back to me. 

For the first time since my mom passed away, I opened the box. When I looked inside tears came to my eyes and I thought that maybe my memories weren't exactly accurate.

It was quite a mess, but what I noticed were all of the partially used spools of thread and the many tiny holes on the inside of the lid where pins and needles had been stuck.

Maybe she did sew on a button or mend a hem a time or two. Maybe she did mend the tear in my Brownie uniform the time I caught it climbing over a fence.

What I do know is that memories of love came out of that box and that I will treasure it.

No more will it be hidden away in a closet. Instead, I have found the perfect spot for it on top of my vintage suitcases. 

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