reflection and memoriam to Evelyn Waters

reflection and memoriam to Evelyn Waters...

... Life passes… I pondered this as I drove to work this morning… the rain poring down all around. A real gloomy day, reminiscent of a funeral scene out of a sad movie…

… Family Quilt… When Janel, Jenny and I were scouting new music for our current J3 project this song popped up. It is sweet, pure and redolent of an easier time… our childhood… living and growing up in a small town… surrounded in memories of our country school, caring church community, valued friends and family…

… at church you'd often find quilts and quilting gatherings – it was just something the older ladies did… along with the wonderful faint scent of coffee and chicken after church… the family quilt was a staple in the whole mix… and Evelyn Waters was one of those lady folk of that generation… the mother of our Aunt Janet, she was a sweet, genuine, Godly woman, beautiful inside and out… a gentle hand, a soft-spoken voice, but a strong sense of self and being.

My heart is sad for our Aunt Janet today as her mom leaves her side… there is a bond Janel and I have with our mom that would just kill us if she were to leave us… mom's been undergoing some health concerns herself lately… so this news of Evelyn and Janet touches me even more so…

… as a kid I had a small family quilt… it was more doll sized, but I loved it none the less…and i still have it! ... one memory comes to mind… the "tent" incident… yeup, we thought that if we took the lamp shade from the lamp and covered the lamp with the quilt that the tent would take it's appropriate shape… as Janel and my brother sat around the lamp tent… a burning smell began to hover over us… yes, you can probably imagine the rest… the quilt did survive… just a small burn patch now serves as a reminder to me that not all of my ideas are advisable… but, it also sends a giggle through my heart as I recall the events of that day… and the fun times being a kid...

A family quilt is precious, just as the person/persons who piece it all together… it holds fond memories in each piece of cloth linking us to a person, special ornament, outfit, place, time, moments!

… I watched my father read the newspaper last night… a ritual he takes part in every night, but last night it struck me just how important the small town life and family connections mean to him… it is much different for him than me… I high-tailed it out of that town as soon as my diploma hit my hand… there was no turning back… now visiting home again, I'm experiencing a smidge of life that my parents live and breath, seems trite sometimes, but it is SO important to them…

...Dad looked up at me, startled a bit, and saddened… well, Frank Ward Sr. just died, and his son recently died… and his grandson just went to prison… and his brother-in-law died… Dad knows everyone in this town… no wait, i stand corrected… in this COUNTY!… and probably three counties over too!… He knows their lives, their families, their struggles, their joys, their past, and now their present and future by reading the town paper… there is a connection there that reflects the essence, caring and pride of living in a small town…

… Evelyn… it saddens me to know she passed away… she lived a long life with precious people and family that still trickle down through the generations… my parents make a point to plan to attend the funeral services… another reminder that life carries on… and we too shall pass…

…family quilt… families, people, friends… we are all here together in this life… like a family quilt we are all connected… like a small town… we are all patched together… good and bad… happy and sad…

… I am so grateful for my upbringing… for my family… I am blessed to be wrapped in this love…

God speed Evelyn…

~ jill

Family Quilt; J3 Best of Friends
www.myspace.com/j3girls

There's my brother's plaid pajamas
And Uncle Pete's green tie
The flower dress was momma's
In leaner times
Grandma took old scraps and patches
And gave them brand new life
She said no matter where you lay your head
This will keep you warm at night
Child always remember
We're all stitched together
Into this family quilt
Every stripe, every color, each one to the other
The burlap next to the silk
It might get a little frayed
But you would be amazed
How well it keeps away the chill
When were wrapped in the love of the family quilt
It's a patchwork world we live in
The craft of unseen hands
And I guess were just to human to see the plan
But I know to Him who made us
We're more than meets the eye
Kind of like those torn pajamas and that old green tie
So I try to remember
We are all stitched together
Into this family quilt
Every stripe, every color, each one to the other
The burlap next to the silk
It might get a little frayed
But you would be amazed
How well it keeps away the chill
When were wrapped in the love of the family quilt
It might get a little frayed, but you would be amazed
How well it keeps away the chill
When were wrapped in the love
Wrapped in the love
When were wrapped in the love
Of the family quilt