humanity
Humanity begins at home.
Hand-me-downs
When I was nineteen I created my first fashion collection utilizing the clothes that my parents once wore as its main textile. As I cut through my parent’s hand-me-downs, it felt as if I were cutting through decades of family ancestry -- as if every fiber of the fabric carried a part of my parent’s history. Every detail in that fashion collection represented more than just me, it also represented the hardships my family had to face. These garments were more than just some old hand-me-downs, they were a symbol of the past. In my perspective, creating the textiles and garments by hand felt like an extension of the skill set and passion embedded in the DNA of my existence. I am just a fragment of the generations before me that have paved the way for one another as I pave the way for future generations. My collection created with hand-me-downs are what make up my family, and the textiles created with them are a preservation of every single detail that led to the creation of my family.
By John Henry Sedrome5 years ago in Families
My Family's Crest
I tell this story in memory of my loving Uncle Ricky, whom I lived with and cared for until the day he died. I've lived in the same house I'm still in today, from when I was 16 months old. I'm now 31 going on 32. This 30 year era of my life spent here, holds most of my experiences. Some of the best memories were of our days and nights of arts and crafts with my mother, and sometimes with my Uncle Ricky. But this particular story has to do with our family tree.
By Skylar Joel Harris5 years ago in Families
I Thought You Were Meant For Me
I thought you were my soul mate. I thought you were meant for me. My perfect match. That was then and this is now. How many of us has had this thought at one time or another? How many of us would have been wrong? I thought I was with the guy for me , but after a lot of time I see maybe he is not the right guy for me or for my kids, and maybe I am not the right woman for him either.
By Amanda J Mollett5 years ago in Families
The Drive, The Tribe, The Cool-Blue Ride
The Drive We were cruising over the Causeway top-down and jamming to the music of ACDC "Back in Black," the notes enthusiastically riding the airwaves and trailing along. My husband sometimes blares the genre "hard rock" on our road crossings; it brings us back to high school, when we were once young, free-spirited, and still had a lot of hair. Traveling then in this beautifully vented road carriage, what's left of our hair was flying uncontrollably, whipping in all directions. And the same for the young ones in the back, still with loads of locks (our daughter Sophia at the time 8, Brandon the Yorkie 3, and Grouper the Goldendoodle 2. Sometimes it can get highly gusty with a wicked cross breeze flowing from the Gulf of Mexico on one side of the Causeway to the Intra Coastal Waterway leading to the Pine Island Sound or the Caloosahatchee River on the other. We were heading into town, which for us was Fort Myers, Florida. A little over five years ago, we moved to the beautiful Island of Sanibel. The Causeway gets us "to and fro," the intimate island of the natural wild preserve. One of our many reasons to move there besides the incredible beauty of this place was the school. It was and is rated number one in Lee County for Elementary-Middle School. Our daughter was about to start Kindergarten, so it was an easy choice. Our fur babies came a short time after we settled in. Grouper the Goldendoodle came; first, he arrived into our lives a little over four years ago. It was a blessing.
By Kimberly Paulus5 years ago in Families
Grandma Emms" Rug Company
Like Mellencamp says, "I was born in a small town." Virden, Illinois, population 3800. My whole family is from here. My momma is from 14 brothers and sisters, the Matattall kids all lived there youth out here. My dad's whole family is from here. My great grandma Emms is the matriarch of the Walls' side. She had 5 girls. My grandma Walls, aunts Margie, Dorothy, Darlene, And Helen who passed shortly after birth. She was literally the coolest human being I've ever known. She lived to 1 month before her 100 birthday. She made munitions during world war 2. She helped found an United Assemblies of God church in Virden. My grandpa Harry was killed by an exploding tractor tire in grandma's 30's and she never remarried. She played the banjo, she was the best Jeopardy at home player I've ever seen. Our houses were right next to each other. Her and my dad grew side by side gardens every year until she couldn't physically tend to it anymore. I was born in 1980, grandma was already 72. The coolest thing she did was make handmade rag rugs on an old loom. People from our town would bring their old clothes in trash bags to her, and she would make them a rug. She charged 10 dollars, i guess it was enough to supplement the little money she got from social security.
By Quinton Walls 5 years ago in Families
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
March 31, 2021 I am at my last ultrasound appointment for Unborn 4. My due date is tomorrow, April 1, and what a funny date to have. I always felt like a joke was being played on me having that due date, like I was on an episode of Punk'd for 10 months waiting for a crew to pop out an say "Joke's on you, baby is not yours, thank you for your time." But that never happened. I just have this doctor in front of me saying there is a chance I can be induced tomorrow when I follow up with my OB/GYN. They always worried my baby was "too small" with measured weight just over 6 pounds, and I always rebutted with 8 pound babies were "too big", so they want the baby out. Well we agree on something because so do I. I waddled out the office with one thing on my mind. I am going into labor tonight.
By Christina DeFeo5 years ago in Families
The Way We See Things
As human beings we are naturally thoughtful. Experiences make us who we are. We get images of people in our mind and that’s how we remember them. Sometimes it creeps up on us that the person who we remember isn’t the person who is standing in front of us. It makes me think of the scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie gets the pink bunny outfit for Christmas. Even if Ralphie was a girl he’s not a little kid anymore.
By Nathan J Bonassin5 years ago in Families
Magic From the Garden
Today is the day. Sparrow knows that it is time as she is being moved into the delivery room on a rolling hospital bed. My daughter is literally aching to get out, Sparrow thinks with a smile. She practices her Lamaze breathing as the nurses and their assistants rush her down the hallway. With the passing of the overhead lights, Sparrow wishes that her husband Marty could be here but he is deployed overseas. The joys of being a military wife, she contemplates to herself. During their last facetime visit, Sparrow promised to send a picture of their new baby girl to him as soon as possible.
By Erika Ravnsborg5 years ago in Families
Amazing. Grace.
I can’t remember when or how I first learned to stitch. It was probably on a thick piece of cardstock with an outline of a camel or maybe a horse on it, and bright yellow or maybe orange yarn pre-threaded on a huge plastic needle. A specially made kit for kindergarteners, in a box that proclaimed that you could sew just like mom! No scissors required. When you finished one, you simply took the yarn out and did it all over again. It was like a dot-to-dot picture, with yarn.
By Nancy Adelman5 years ago in Families
Do You Think Parenting Stops?
I am one of those who think parenting is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. It's an opinion I have had for a long time and it hasn't quite changed. There are topics I can't help but read or save for later reads. Finance, health, politics always make the list. Parenting comes in at some point.
By Nkeonye Judith IZUKA5 years ago in Families
