Today in Shari’s corner of Texas…
I know the holidays are when most of us think about traditions. It’s hard not to remember when the kids were young, or the smell of food cooking in grandma’s kitchen. Ah, now I want my grandmother’s cornbread dressing.
However, for today, I’m talking about the more day-to-day traditions, and passing on skills that may be lost if we don’t make the time to share them with our youth. It is tough to get them to step away from all the electronic distractions, but I have found that once they start working on something, and see it coming together, they also begin to enjoy it. Okay, maybe not always, but more often than not.
A few years ago, I ended up scoring a chair that once belonged to my grandmother. It was long past the need for a makeover, so I decided I’d learn to reupholster so I could make it something she’d have loved.
Here’s how it looked when it was given to me:
Okay, the cat did not come with the chair. 😉
Her favorite color was purple, and she was a fun woman, so my choices of upholstery ran along those lines.
Here is how that vision manifested itself:
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By no means a perfect job, but I still love it, and I know she would, too. I can imagine her sitting there as I write this.
I found reupholstering furniture to be something I enjoyed. It’s tough to find people who do this anymore, so being able to do it for myself gave me a sense of accomplishment. More importantly, I get to decide how it looks in the end.
Today, I’m teaching my sons how to reupholster a chair. Sure, they may never do it for themselves, but maybe some day they will simply because I took the time to teach them to do so.
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Of course, I can already hear the arguing over who gets to sit in it.
We all know that answer to that:
MOM!
This holiday, give your family the gift of yourself; it is the most valuable gift you can give them – ever!
Love and best wishes to all,
Shari