TUESDAY THOUGHTS: I CAN SEE!

Among the possessions, of my late mother, that I’ve kept, are sewing items. 

I don’t know what was originally inside the black velvet, treasure chest-shaped box she kept in the laundry room, but Mommy used to keep notions inside it—elastic, seam binding, lace scraps, ribbon, buttons, etc. 

I gave the box to my daughter, but not before I put a few spools of thread and a package of needles into a ziplock bag for myself. You never know when there will be a sewing emergency. Throwing things away that could easily be cleaned, refurbished, repaired was never a thing in my family, so this morning’s repair brought back memories. 

I found a spool of navy blue thread, that I’m sure is over 20 years old. I wondered how long is too long, to even keep thread.) I didn’t need much, but I realized I DID need a finer needle than the first one I picked up. I needed a sharp point, that demands you have a thimble nearby (which I do not.)

Sometimes, the wrong tool just makes the task more difficult, or the problem bigger. A larger needle would have simply created more holes to be repaired. 

I looked at the fine needle I chose, and laughed. I could barely see the eye, it was so tiny, and darn near microscopic. Was it even a needle, or a headless pin? 

I went into the bathroom where the light is ridiculously bright. (How energy efficient IS that vanity light/bar thingy? But, I digress.)

I wet the thread (as I’d been taught), and after three or four tries, finally saw it barely poking through the other side of the eye. I held my right hand as still as I could, while I pinched the thread with my left, hoping I wouldn’t push it back through, and have to start all over again. When I pulled the thread, and it came through, you would have thought I’d run a marathon, or won the lottery. I WAS kinda proud of myself— mostly because I could SEE what I was doing! I was suddenly grateful for a lot of things, mostly for a mother who taught me to sew, but DEFINITELY for the ability to SEE to thread that needle! 

Between TV, tablets, phone screens, night driving, etc., one’s eyesight takes a beating. It easy to take vision for granted, until you have to read fine print on a menu, take a mandatory eye exam to renew your drivers’ license, or find something you’ve dropped on the floor (like that piece of bell pepper I’d chopped, the other day, that preferred to be underneath the refrigerator, as opposed to inside the bowl with the rest of it’s friends).

Today, as I sewed (and wondered when I’ll finally set up the sewing machine, and keep it up like Mommy used to), I was just happy to be able to see. She told me that my first spoken word wasn’t “mama”, or “dada”, but “See!”.

I realize my eyesight isn’t as sharp as it used to be (when I was the designated reader of far away interstate signs, during family road trips) but I’m glad I can still notice details, appreciate colors and contrasts, and find the beauty in even the most ordinary things. I’m glad that my hands are still relatively steady, and don’t mind coordinating and cooperating with my eyes, ‘cause I admit, I wasn’t exactly confident when I first looked at that little needle.

Now, let me find out that you can buy pre- threaded needles…lol