A Bitter-Sweet Knitting Victory

I remember it like it was yesterday. At the age of seven, my great grandmother (Nani) looked at me and said," you are a special young lady and you're going to be very successful no matter what path or route you take." She knew that I was creative and said that my talents would take me far in life.

Creating things is what helped me and made me feel happy. I could express myself through being a creative person and using my inner talent. I used to dress up my dolls and put on shows. I even used to play "Baywatch" and dress up, while I used blankets to represent the sand and blue ones to set the scene for the beach. It was so much fun when I was in my element.

It was the day before my Nani's 88th birthday and my parents drove to visit her at her lake house where she had retired in Miami, Florida. We were going to stay over for the weekend and celebrate with the rest of the family on her special day. After dinner my Nani called me to the living room. She handed me a sewing needle and told me to pick a yarn color. I was perplexed as i had never sewn anything before or saw it done by anyone. Before I could even say anything she said don't worry I'm going to show you how I make this scarf and you'll follow along. She knew I was a hands on learner and I learned things rather quickly after being shown only one time. Two hours later I had made a scarf that was blue and white.

She was so impressed because I wasn't a teenager yet but I caught the concept fairly easily. I went on to learn to make other styles and actual clothing like shirts and skirt sets. We did sold out events together and people couldn't believe their eyes when they would see me doing live demos. That Summer I joined the sewing contest for the group of 7-13 year olds I won first place and got a check for $3,000.00.

Every year I would be so excited for the Summer so I could visit my Nani and soak up all the knowledge and wisdom and bond. Bonding was truly amazing. It was our tradition for 6 straight years, and we would attend many different craft events together.

The Summer of 2001, it all took a turn for what would be the worse day of my life. The information I received sent me into a shock that I couldn't get myself out of. Nani had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and no one had a clue. We couldn't help if we wanted too. This is what hurt my family the most! All I could think about was how I was going to miss spending time together with my Nani and this would be the first time in years that I would not be able to attend the craft event. This year the young adult group had raised so much money and the grand prize was $15,000.00 for first place winner. The state of mind i was in I couldn't even get excited about the contest or think of participating because all i could think of was is my Nani going to be okay. She was everything to me and I couldn't imagine attending and her not being by my side.

Finally after a week my parents took me to visit her in hospice. She spoke very little and I was crying uncontrollably because I could sense that this was the end. I told her i didn't want to go without her to the event. She put up her finger and gave me a no symbol. And I said," so you want me to go", she shook her head yes.

After talking with her I cheered up. My mom came over to me and said, Nani knows that you love doing this and wouldn't have it any other way.

The event took place 3 months later. Nani had recovered enough to come home. I attended the event, but this time she watched from the sideline. I won first place and took home the trophy. I made it in the local newspaper and they even took my picture with my Nani because it was because of her that I had developed the talent for sewing that I had. So I was beyond happy that I got to celebrate and share my victorious moment with her by my side.