Ladies’ weekend and a surprise

On the first weekend of December, my sister Karin, her daughter (and my niece), as well as my daughter Cassie all came to Kearney. They rented an Airbnb for the weekend that became the hangout, not only for them, but also for my sister-in-law Lorene and for me.

Of course, we also included Keith in evening meals. Friday night found Alley Rose very sensitive to my food allergies, which the ladies all made sure were handled. They are very protective. Outside the weather was cold and windy, but inside the food was good as was the fellowship of family with laughter and catching up conversations. (There was even a dessert I could eat without worrying about a reaction.)

Saturday morning Keith dropped me off at the rental. Lorene arrived shortly afterward. Kelly made a breakfast casserole we shared with chatter, gentle teasing, plans and laughter. Kept talking as we moved to the living room area of their beautiful rental. It was good to be together. Family yes, but friends as well.

Later that morning niece Kelly said she had a little something for Lorene, Karin, and me for Christmas. What! Didn’t know we planned for gifts. True. The weekend was also for us to exchange Christmas gifts, but those were for our families. We do get together to exchange our packages, usually in York since Karin, her kids and their families live in Kansas. Meeting is more fun and not as much hassle as shipping all the gifts.

But those packages aren’t opened until Christmas when we each celebrate with our families. Kelly left the room and returned with three bags, one each for Karin, Lorene, and me. I was surprised and I could tell Karin had no clue as to what this might be.

We opened our bags to discover gorgeous quilts. Kelly had made us each a special quilt. What brought us to tears was what the quilts represented. Kelly had taken shirts my brother Paul wore and turned them into memorial quilts.

We exclaimed as we pointed out different shirts. “I remember that one!” What an amazing and thoughtful gift. I could see his wife Lorene wrapping herself in her quilt remembering Paul. Karin had no idea Kelly had been making those quilts.

Paul died of massive heart failure January 8, 2019. Somehow it suddenly didn’t seem that long ago. Now we have memorial blankets to remember him. There really were no words, though we tried. Yet, love doesn’t need words. Actions said it all. Lorene, Karin, and I hugged first Kelly then our blankets while Kelly and Cassie took pictures to preserve our new and precious memories of the weekend.

Lorene also passed out wonderful calendars as we considered getting together next year for another weekend together. In the evening, Keith joined us for pizza and games. A fitting end to a special weekend of love and laughter. Something to remember and celebrate in the coming year—the spirit of reaching out in love.

© 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

Published in Hub column 12/27/2022

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