Comforting

I think one of the neatest things is what we find comfort in. We feel bad, and we want Mom's soup. For me, it was her potato soup. She makes the BESTEST. I've tried to make it myself, but it's just not the same. Gotta have that MOM aspect to it, I suppose.

But it's not just food we find comfort in. Songs do that for me too. Some songs just soothe me. Some wrap themselves around me and simply associate it with what I'm feeling at any given moment. Movies especially. Like a song, they can bring back a memory - how old you were the first time you saw it, what was going on in your life, the feelings it gave you when you saw it, and if those are happy memories, it brings those back to you. Like THE PRINCESS BRIDE, for example. The first time I saw it was in a huge auditorm, my first semester at Harding University in my first week there. I was on this high, I guess. First time away from my family, on my own (although in a "dorm" at a university with strict rules, but still...) It was a happy time, and even now, when I watch it, that good feeling comes back.

I collect quilts. My quilts are a comfort. Some are never used though. My grandmother made a couple of them. One was on my bed growing up - that old "Amish doll" style. I don't use it anymore - it's on a quilt rack - because I don't want it "worn" anymore than I did to it as a child. I don't want it to give out and have to get rid of it. I have two others she made - and when I say made, I mean MADE. When I was little, we'd go out to visit Granny and Papa and Gran had this HUGE rack that suspended from the ceiling that she'd lower to work on it, all hand stitched, from the piecing all the way to the actual quilting, matching the batting and the backing. The talent is awesome. The uniform stitching is a true talent. Another one of my quilts was made from my great-grandmother. Heirloom to the extreme.

But other times, I pick up some up at garage sales. I love the softness of them. I love the idea that someone made such a difficult thing out of a need to express herself. And now it's mine. And it's soft. Not too heavy, not too light. Perfect to wrap up in. Even though it wasn't made specifically for me, it brings me comfort anyway, and I like to think that the original creator knows it goes on, bringing peace and warmth to even a stranger.

Right now, my comfort item is a couch. I LOVE this couch. It's so comfortable, and the memories of it are ... well there are no words for the memories this couch holds for me. We just rearranged the entire living room to accomodate this, making it the center of our living room. The last couple of days have been super bad ones for me, and wrapped in a quilt, watching some of my favorite movies, resting on The Couch has been one of the best things ever.

Now if only had my mother's soup.