Out of the blue, my grandma asked me if I would like her button box. She was getting rid of her sewing "stuff" and thought I might be interested in some of her things. What? Her question caught me totally off-guard. Of course, my response was an absolute yes. I was honored that she would even think of me.
The day came to pick her "stuff" up. I felt like I had won the lottery.
"Camie, come to the bedroom. It's all in there."
She gave me 5 different pairs of sewing scissors - pinking shears, embroidery scissors, scissors that are ergonomically correct, electric scissors. A tin of laces, tapes and ribbons. Spools and spools of thread. A box of snaps and fasteners. A wee little hand loom. And the button box.
I hadn't seen the button box in years. The box (a tin, really) was exactly as I remembered it to be, the fruit motif worn down with use and love.
"I used these buttons on a coat I made for your Auntie Dawn."
"Oh, these I used on a dress for a doll."
"That button came from Mexico."
And as she raked her fingers through the rainbow of disks, it was as if her fingers were stirring the threads of my memories. I remembered, as a child, plunging my fingers into the depths to feel the buttons' satiny smoothness. I remembered one particular aqua button that I always wanted to pop in my mouth (it looked just like a certain Brach's hard candy). I remembered the basement room where her sewing machine was set up, alongside her kiln and paints. I remembered the precious dresses she sewed for the beautiful, porcelain dolls she lovingly made and would give to me and my cousins for Christmas, Easter and our birthdays. I remembered the beautiful quilts that she pieced and hand-quilted for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I remembered how loved I felt every time I opened a present from Grandma, for I knew that she created that special gift just for me.
Grandma didn't just give me her sewing "stuff". She gave me a heritage of lovingly, beautifully sewn heirlooms and a lifetime of memories. The button box is a treasure box, for it tells the story of my grandma and of how much she loved her family. I will cherish it always.
