This week has been a hodge podge of memories, every where I turn there is some reminder of a past event where a memory comes to surface. Some are like a tiny bubble underneath the water going up, up, up till they reach the surface with no change evident. But others rush upward till they are remembered, thought about, and placed on the shelf of my heart where all good and bad memories reside.
The memory that started this story involves purple pants of long ago. My aunt Geneva, mother's older sister, used to sew for me occasionally. She was a good seamstress and made lots of fun items from curtains to bell bottom pants.
She was always neat in her housekeeping and made the nicest curtains. I always loved to see what her imagination could bring out. She liked to sew for me too, and when I was little would make skirts and other clothing. She would use the leftover material from skirts that she made for herself, so when she got a new skirt, I'd get a miniature version too! I loved them.
She also made pants for me but she had one fault in her pant making. They were never quite long enough, just always a tad too short. One year she made a purple pant suit with a sleeveless top. The top was trimmed with white edging around the sleeves and neck. The pants were just too short for my liking so I cut them off and made shorts...it was a wonderful shorts outfit since the top was sleeveless.
The human mind is a marvelous work. Let me tell you how I remembered the purple pants of long ago. I bought a pair of black knit pants a couple weeks back. I loved the feel of the material. They ended up in my closet until this week when I got them out. I have a terrible time buying pants, I am only 5 ft. 2 in. tall and can never find any the right length. These were petites but still too long, I had to hem them one and a half inches.
But, since they fit so well, I did what I often do. I went back to the store and bought a tan and navy blue pair. When I find pants that fit good, I stock up...and of course, had to hem all three pairs. The material felt good, kind of ribbed on the outside and smooth on the inside. And then it dawned on me, I knew this material! It was the same kind as the purple pants of long ago. The crazy stuff will never wear out as polyester is here for the duration. We truly are wearing not only the styles of the 1970's, but the fabrics as well. Years later Aunt Geneva asked me if I remembered the purple pants she had sewn for me and I said yes. She then sighed and said, "You cut them off and mde shorts out of them!"
The last pair of pants Aunt Geneva made for me were maternity pants when I was pregnant with my oldest son. I think she got the length right on those as I don't remember them being too short. There were red checked polyester and she made a nice big white polyester top to go with them. As I was poor and didn't have much money to purchase clothes, I wore the clothes often.
The most fun pair of pants she made for me were a pair of bell bottoms...era 1974-75. She made them out of a lightweight blue jean material...and they were huge bells. She bought me a cute little pale pink blouse to wear with them, and she carefully laid it on my bed for me to see when I went into my room. She did this with all the new stuff she'd buy...and I've carried that tradition on with my children. I lay new items for them across their beds for them to find when they go into their rooms.
Those pants were just a tad too short but I fixed that problem by wearing sandals with no heels when I wore them. That made them just the right length!
Some people have natures that take them off into adventures everyday. They see a garden that needs to be hoed and along the way they stop to smell the flowers, then see a tree that needs to be pruned; after the pruning is done, they see the birdfeeder empty and fill it, which reminds them the bird bath needs water. At day's end they see the garden still needing to be hoed, but the time is short and they must make supper abandoning the garden that needs to be worked.
I am unlike that person in this regard, I see a task, I set out and I pursue it till I finish it. This trait makes for some happy employers who like my detail oriented multi-tasking. However, when it comes to memories and stories, I resemble the person who fills their days with the adventures at hand.
A pair of black pants hidden in my closet for weeks can trigger a wealth of memories that go from garden hoeing to flower smelling, and travels to the birds, until I've exhausted the memories and filled a space in my mind and heart once again.
Did I mention Aunt Geneva had no children and when I was a baby she would hold me and wish that I were her child? I spent tonight searching for the photos to go with this story, single-minded in my task. I've prepared yet another memory shelf laden with photos, skirts, pants and curtains, stopping along the way to go through many old photos which led to remembering many years of a truly blessed life with my aunt.
