Here is a blog I wrote several years ago and I wanted to repost it today..I was reminded of it when I saw Marshall walking around in this very special little red coat as we got ready to go to the Christmas parade last week...Betsy told me that people are always asking her about it and commenting on it when they see it....what we do goes on and on and on....a good thing to remember....
This little red coat is more than 30 years old.....I made it for my son when he was a little boy..it has a hat that matches and I will show it to you later...I don't really remember much about sewing it other than I did make it and I must have spent a lot of time on it because it is made very well and has lasted through 5 boys and still looks new. :-)
So here is the lesson I am learning...things that we do last a lot longer than we ever imagine...it is important to do things well and to think about what we are doing as mamas...they can most definitely effect the next generation...
I really, really wish I had a picture of Jon in this little coat but I don't..maybe that is a hint at how much I didn't think of this coat at the time....
At some point I had loaned the coat to my sister and I guess her boy Phillip wore it..I don't remember and there is no picture to remind me.....when she gave it back to me a few years ago, it was like an old friend returning....I had no idea it still was around.I hung it in my closet and then magic started to happen..
.Betsy had a little boy...and by the time I remembered it, the coat fit him perfectly...who knew....one day there would be a Will to wear this coat that a new mama in her early twenties was making for her small son..one day her grandsons would wear this very coat..it would keep them warm and show up in many pictures around Christmas time..
Yesterday as I saw Betsy put the little coat on her middle son, it started to be an 'aha' moment..he didn't want to wear it so it only lasted a minute..LOL gotta love Mac...got a mind of his own....then she quickly put it on the baby..and rolled the little sleeves up..the hat was perfect for a very cold Atlanta day...and we were off to ride the Pink Pig (another post, another day)...
Marshall is the youngest to wear the little red coat..he is probably the biggest at this age...so it all made me start thinking....so here goes.....
.
There are things that we do as young women that have very far reaching effects on our families...some are GOOD and some are bad...I like to keep the GOOD column FULL and the bad column empty..but that is not always how life goes...I made this coat for my young son because I loved him and enjoyed sewing....I did a good job because I liked what I was doing.....I chose the fabric because it was probably close to Christmas and it is my favorite color...I do remember that is was from a Vogue pattern...so it was special from the beginning...I just didn't know
that my actions as a young mama would reach through the generations and touch each of my grandsons like this....it has made them look awesome in pictures and has kept them warm when it is freezing outside....
Our actions are important..doing what we love is important....we don't do things well if we don't like what we do..
This is hard to put into words..I am struggling with making my thoughts clear enough for you to understand...
Maybe to simplify what I am trying to say.
....many years ago a young and inexperienced mama sat at her sewing machine making a little red coat for her little boy without any thought past 'he will look cute in this when I am finished'....
Thirty three years later...the little red coat is still around..she helped to put it on her third grandson yesterday to protect him from the freezing weather and it protected him just fine......
The moral here, girls, is this...what we do has much further reaching benefits than we ever realize at the moment we are doing them..it is who we are that makes a difference and then, out of the abundance of our heart, the generations are protected and kept warm...so live life intentionally...and love yourself so that the overflow is GOOD and we can smile when we see the next generation wearing the little red coat we made in our younger years.....
thank you for coming down this path with me...I hope you get something that you can take with you as you read..
So here is the lesson I am learning...things that we do last a lot longer than we ever imagine...it is important to do things well and to think about what we are doing as mamas...they can most definitely effect the next generation...
I really, really wish I had a picture of Jon in this little coat but I don't..maybe that is a hint at how much I didn't think of this coat at the time....
At some point I had loaned the coat to my sister and I guess her boy Phillip wore it..I don't remember and there is no picture to remind me.....when she gave it back to me a few years ago, it was like an old friend returning....I had no idea it still was around.I hung it in my closet and then magic started to happen..
.Betsy had a little boy...and by the time I remembered it, the coat fit him perfectly...who knew....one day there would be a Will to wear this coat that a new mama in her early twenties was making for her small son..one day her grandsons would wear this very coat..it would keep them warm and show up in many pictures around Christmas time..
.
There are things that we do as young women that have very far reaching effects on our families...some are GOOD and some are bad...I like to keep the GOOD column FULL and the bad column empty..but that is not always how life goes...I made this coat for my young son because I loved him and enjoyed sewing....I did a good job because I liked what I was doing.....I chose the fabric because it was probably close to Christmas and it is my favorite color...I do remember that is was from a Vogue pattern...so it was special from the beginning...I just didn't know
that my actions as a young mama would reach through the generations and touch each of my grandsons like this....it has made them look awesome in pictures and has kept them warm when it is freezing outside....
Our actions are important..doing what we love is important....we don't do things well if we don't like what we do..
This is hard to put into words..I am struggling with making my thoughts clear enough for you to understand...
Maybe to simplify what I am trying to say.
....many years ago a young and inexperienced mama sat at her sewing machine making a little red coat for her little boy without any thought past 'he will look cute in this when I am finished'....
Thirty three years later...the little red coat is still around..she helped to put it on her third grandson yesterday to protect him from the freezing weather and it protected him just fine......
The moral here, girls, is this...what we do has much further reaching benefits than we ever realize at the moment we are doing them..it is who we are that makes a difference and then, out of the abundance of our heart, the generations are protected and kept warm...so live life intentionally...and love yourself so that the overflow is GOOD and we can smile when we see the next generation wearing the little red coat we made in our younger years.....
thank you for coming down this path with me...I hope you get something that you can take with you as you read..
These are good thoughts, Mona, and ones that I needed to read.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
Mona, this is wonderful! Every young mother (and old one too)needs to hear these thoughts. I am sure you have many many memories of your mother doing special and ordinary things that lit up your home and your life as a little girl and teenager and I can tell you have poured yourself out for your family like this in thousands of ways. Those wonderful promises of Christ involving "living water" and "walking in the light" are lived out, I think in the thousand ordinary things we do out of love as well as being faithful in the huge and frightening dramatic moments that face us all at one time or another.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing the little red coat, again, Mona! I think your message applies to grandmothers, as well. We just never know what will "stick"!
ReplyDeleteSuch a good reminder :)
ReplyDeleteAnd what a cute coat!!!
That is one handsome coat and hat. My son wore his father's tweed jacket with leather touches. When I passed it along to my daughter-in-law she looked at it in total horror. =D Nope, never did see either of the boys wear it. You are correct...our influence extends much further than we think.
ReplyDeleteMona, I adore "The Little Red Coat" with gingham lining and hat with ear flaps! Talent! I saw a "Little Red Coat" at Macy's for my son when he was a tyke. My mother in law funded its' purchase, as I just had to have it, and I still know its' whereabouts. He looked handsome in Christmas photos, with the hood up. Great minds think alike, huh?
ReplyDelete