Tuesday, March 15

an heirloom

Every month or two, my mother appears with some age appropriate object for Eamon. The object generally comes from a trunk, and it sometimes looks familiar to me. Some of the objects have a story, though vague.

vintage baby knits
A sweater knit by my grandmother - or was it my great-grandmother? - for my mother's younger sister.

vintage baby knits
Booties knit by my grandmother - for whom?? - using yarn mixed with raw wool from her sheep.

Though I am a believer in using hand me downs, and heirlooms in general, there is something anxiety producing about putting a newborn in a tiny sweater that is over 60 years old. Yeah, Eamon never wore it. And I think he might have worn those wacky, sheepy booties maybe once.

When my parents came up for Eamon's birthday, they brought another heirloom, though one slightly newer. Here it is when it was brand new, 35 years ago.
me on my rocking horse
Yeah, that is me.

A few other kids have used this rocking horse since my father made it for me all those years ago. When I had it, it was painted a solid orange color. Since then it has been repainted and had a real horsehair tail attached.

Eamon loves it. He can't get on it by himself yet, but he stands next to it and grunts excitedly until we put him on. And then he rocks, so proud of himself. And tonight, when we were reading a book that had a picture of a horse, he turned and pointed at the rocking horse. (he is a genius! Let me tell you!)

Eamon on my old rocking horse
Please excuse the mess!

This an heirloom I am not afraid of breaking; this is an heirloom for using.

Tuesday, March 1

what's next

I have been thinking a bit about this blog recently. This started as a place to chat about our renovations, and my knitting, and for me to muse about my thoughts on this or that. Though some of it is very personal, and all of it is based on my life, I have tried to keep a distance from the details.

I'm realizing that what I want to write about now is Eamon. Not really just about him, but about my thoughts on life and parenthood, and how his existence is changing my priorities and shifting my focus. I'd like to write about choices we've made, or things we are contemplating. I guess I want to make this more of a parenting blog. One of many, I know. Though before this was one of many knitting blogs, so I'm not sure what the difference is.

I'll still post about my knitting and my crafts and things that interest me, but I'll probably write more posts like that one about legwarmers, or the one about cloth diapers. And maybe there will be more to read, too!