Thursday, November 29, 2007

89 and counting

I have enough deadlines in my work life that I try to limit the number of them I create for myself in my personal life. That's why I don't make a long list of things to knit for holiday gifts or make myself crazy about a birthday or a christening. Instead, I just make things when I want to and give them for no particular reason.

That said, I'm about to make an exception to my rule. My mom is turning ninety in mid January and I want to make something for her. Ninety! Can you imagine?

She's been living in a retirement community in Virginia for the past 7+ years. This fall we found ourselves in the unfortunate position where it was time to transition her into assisted living. Her memory has become problematic and it had reached a point where we worried about her safety. It hasn't been easy, we're talking about a fiercely independent woman here.

I made her a beautiful red sweater a couple of years ago that she mentions all the time. And there's an Aslan sweater that my sister in law and I teamed up on that she just loves. (I dyed the yarn and she did the knitting.)

There was a time where she hinted around about a scarf but she hasn't mentioned that in awhile. I like the idea of a pair of warm cuddly socks. After all, she doesn't get out as much as she used to and there's something really comforting about nice thick socks.

I'm going to spend a few days with her over the weekend. I guess the best thing to do is talk with her about it. That's not as easy as it used to be. Her answers often change from minute to minute these days. At the very least I'll look around and see what I think would make her happiest. After all, this is all about her.

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