Quilts Are For Comfort

The ticket agent asked for my email address to send a link to finalize our flight itinerary. He caught me off guard when he asked if 'quilts' was like something made from fabric? "Well, yes, I am a quilter and that is the correct word. Yes, that is part of my email address."

Joe said that his mother was a quilter and he loved everything that she made. She was no longer alive but there were still so many good memories.

As we wrapped up my travel transaction, Joe took his time to tell me something very important. He paused and it felt to me that when I said the word quilt, it opened an emotion that had been held in safe keeping for a long, long time.

He asked if I had social media or where could he see my quilts. I shared my WarmQuilts.com website with him and he softly said, "quilts are for comfort." By then, my husband was in the room with me, and we both told Joe that we agreed with him; quilts are truly for comfort, and they bring comfort, too.

While I was online confirming airline tickets, Joe scrolled through my blog posts and made thoughtful comments. He then said that he was from Guatemala and that no one in his family makes tamales - only his grandmother who is still alive. The tamales recipe is passed down through generations, and hers are the best. He commented how sad it would be that when his grandmother is gone, the tamales will be gone, too. Like his mother's quilts, they are the last.

"At the heart of every family tradition is a meaningful experience." ~Unknown

I hope that Joe continues to find comfort with his mother's beautiful quilts. And the next time he visits his grandmother he helps her make the tamales. Thinking of our random interaction made me recall my grandmother making egg noodles for her delicious stews. As she assembled the ingredients, I would help her roll out and cut the thick ribbons of dough to dry then drop into the enormous pot of boiling water. Do I have that simple recipe? No. Have I gone online to find a recipe? Not yet!

For family gatherings, I now make tapioca pudding the way my mother did. My sister thanks me for carrying on the tradition and believes that "some recipes aren't just about food. They're how we remember the ones we love." Quilts, too, are like comfort food. And that's why I believe heartfelt connections are so important.

Thank you for stopping by.

XOXOX