The Little Quilt

Several years ago, when my son was one year old and my husband and I were expecting our daughter, I set out to make quilts for each of them. I was so excited to make their quilts and give them to them, hoping that they would treasure and hold on to them. So, I set to work. I made a sweet, soft lavender baby quilt for our daughter and for my happy, energetic boy I made a bright, fun quilt with blues, green and a pop of orange. I loved those quilts, I still do. I was so proud of them. However I was so proud of my son’s quilt that I made the mistake of wanting to keep it in perfect condition - forever. So, I kept it folded neatly on his shelf. I never let him play on it, sleep with it or eat anywhere near it. At the time I didn't think anything of it. I thought I was preserving it and taking good care of it. After all, I had made it, and put so much love and work into it...it was my job to protect it, right?

Then, in the blink of an eye, a few years passed and the day came when he was home sick from pre-school and wanted to curl up on the couch with a movie. So I set up pillows, stuffed animals and a blanket for him, then I grabbed his quilt. Surely this was a perfect chance for him to have it. He could relax on the couch and get better, warmly tucked under the quilt I had made him. But when I covered him up - something sad happened - I saw that the quilt was barely big enough to cover him up. This quilt that - at the time I made it - could have covered him and a friend was now barely long enough to cover up his curled up little body. I felt awful. I had been so busy "protecting and preserving" this quilt that I never let him use it, enjoy it, or love it. How was it ever going to be special to him or matter at all to him if he had never even used it? Most people don't grow up to say "Oh yea I loved that blanket, it sat so nicely on my shelf and stayed so clean all the time". No. The things that we cherish from our childhood are things that have stories and great histories behind them. Things that grew up right along with us. 

So, I quickly got over my need to keep that quilt in perfect condition and began letting him use it whenever he wanted....(except when he was learning to stay dry at night, because...well, you know...). And I also set about making him another quilt. A nice big twin sized one that would be long enough to cover his body for a long time. And one that reflected what he was into at the time and what he loved; a quilt that had, in his words, "all the sports on it". And he loves it, and he uses it every night at bedtime, along with that first baby quilt, which just about covers 75% of him.

My point is this, we can't be too afraid to let our kids live life and enjoy it to it's fullest. We can't be too afraid to let life happen. Spills, dirt and imperfect moments happen. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that it's our job to take good care of the life, the things and the people that God has blessed us with, but we can't be so busy making sure everything is perfectly neat and tidy that we become too afraid to let life get a little crazy and messy or even fun. Sometimes that's how the best memories are made.