Saturday, June 21, 2008

Hope floats

No words can convey my shock, my sadness, or my surprise at this day. One of my dear customers, who had decided last fall that this would be her year to take a grand prize ribbon at the fair, came into the shop today. I asked if she'd come through the flood alright and immediately I knew better. As it turns out, her ground-floor apartment was a total loss, but sadder still was the loss of her life's tokens. Family photographs and her grandmothers' quilts were ruined, as it wasn't just rain water, but backed up sewage that first invaded her home. The photo quilt she'd began as her county fair entry was gone,as were the precious wedding photos of her parents and both sets of grandparents. The memory quilt was lost to the flood.

Or was it? We'd scanned in the photos to Picasa and there they still were, on the computer. She had tears in her eyes this morning when she realized that she still had access to those old family photographs. True, it'll be quite some time before she'll be settled into a new apartment (a hot commodity, with all that's been condemned), and she's currently without sewing machine, but the emotion in her voice was strong and her eyes glittered beneath the tears... the memory quilt will come to be, and it has some new memories tagging along. As I gathered up her purchase into a bag, she flashed such a beaming smile at me. The normalcy of picking out fat quarters and rebuilding her stash made her feel good, like anything was possible, that her world will return to a pattern she recognizes. Today I was privileged to offer her a listening ear, and some encouragement. Today, hope looked like a bag of cloth, a spool of thread, and a smile.
Perhaps all that we can ever really have is hope.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I am heartened by your story and saddened at the same time. Mother Nature is a wicked beaotch and I don't know what we (humans) did to piss off this year.

Yesterday's post touched me too. I just don't have the words. g

knitter in the desert said...

Oh I'm so glad there was a beacon of light in that tragedy and you were the one to help shine it through

Stephanie said...

I'm sure words can't describe what you did for your customer today. That little glimmer that things will be okay. That life will get back to "normal". I can't even imagine what it must be like over there right now. Keep your chin up my dear friend :)

Anonymous said...

Ohhh, so sad!
You know, my parents had a fire at their storage unit, and my mom thought for sure that the family photos were destroyed. She was AMAZED that some restorers actually salvaged most of them. Please tell your friend to ask her insurance company to refer her to someone that specializes in restoration....nothing hurts more than losing those irreplacible family mementos.

Dragonfly7673 (Vicki) said...

That is so sad, I'm glad you were able to help her and I hope that more can be saved.

Thimbleanna said...

Blogger ate my comment! Just wanted to say how sad I am for all your awful weather down there. And what a lucky customer to have had you there to help her.