Today has been what a friend of mine calls a “rich, full day.” My sister Michaele has been immensely supportive of me in helping me get my house livable and homey. In the first few weeks I lived here she came over and helped me unpack a significant number of boxes and more importantly helped me hang artwork and very tastefully arrange my books, knick knacks and various decorative items in ways I never could have. I had told her early on that I needed her good eye for doing things like hanging my prints and guiding my choices of colors and furniture arrangements. I am talented at a number of things, decorating and visual creativity is not one of them. I simply do not know how to put things together in attractive ways.
All three of my sisters possess talent in this area, and while I have prevailed upon each of them for their opinions and suggestions, Michaele has taken it on as her personal project to help me unpack and de-clutter (she hates boxes) and help me make my house comfortable and livable. In short, she has helped me make a home for myself. Today was another round of home decorating that lasted virtually all day and well into the night. I am grateful not simply for the assistance I received, but the quality time I got to spend with two of my three sisters.
It began first thing this morning when I had breakfast with my younger sister. In preparation for my daughter’s coming home for the holidays, I needed to purchase sheets and blankets for her bed, as well as pillow inserts and other decorating items for Michaele’s planned arrival early this afternoon. I spent hours and dollars on the pre-work and then when Michaele arrived, we trekked out to the fabric store to purchase pieces with which we were going to make draperies, covers for throw pillows, and coverings for my kitchen chairs that need to be reupholstered. I was never a big fan of fabric stores–my mom, who was quite a seamstress, used to drag me through looking at this pattern and that fabric, not to mention buttons, threads, zippers, seam binding, and other notions. I was usually cranky and bored during these excruciatingly dull excursions, but my time at the fabric store with Michaele was a total blast. (Who knew?)
There are moments in time that I “photograph” in my mind’s eye, because I want to etch them into my memory. There was such a sweet quality to my excursions, first with Ruth at the Target and IKEA and later with Michaele at the fabric store. When we were headed home late in the afternoon, she surprised me by saying that she had her sewing machine in the trunk of her car and that she intended to sew the window coverings and perhaps the pillow covers this evening. So for the next 5 hours (after we had an early supper of Chinese take out), we cut and pinned and ironed the sheer fabric and Michaele worked her magic with the sewing machine. As we worked we talked about various things, though mostly I tried to concentrate on my various assignments so as not to screw them up (a seamstress I am not.) Finally, after covering five of the eight windows that needed sheers, we called it a night, Michaele driving away around 11 p.m., nine hours after she’d arrived at my house.
Yes, this has been a rich and full day in so many ways. I was reminded yet again of how blessed I am to be in close relationship with my family. I’ll have the chance to hang out with my other sister tomorrow evening when I go to her house for her annual Christmas tree trimming party. I haven’t been to this event in many years. It’s now another cool thing I get to do because of where I am living now. And what’s even better will be picking my daughter up from the airport tomorrow night and spending the next three weeks with her. Taken all together I have to say that it really doesn’t get much better than this. And I am grateful.
