True Friends

I have a sweet story to share with you.  It’s a story of a daughter’s love and the loyalty of her friends.  And there is a sewing connection.

Aunt Rheeta, 73

Many of you may remember my dear Aunt Rheeta who has stitched many projects featured on this blog. (See  Aunt Rheeta’s Communion Cloth, Vacation or Sweat shop,  Bible Cover, My Heroine, Patient Pillowcases.)

Just before she left her home in Indiana to come visit me, Aunt Rheeta celebrated her 80th birthday.

 

She is a low-key sort of celebrant and would have been perfectly happy with a call from each of her four children and card or two  from friends.  But it didn’t happen like that.

Her daughter, Missy, lives in Texas and was unable to get away to Indiana.  So  SHE arranged for the festivities she thought appropriate for such an occasion.  Enlisting the help of her ever-since childhood friends Katie and Gail who still live in the area, a very memorable 80th birthday celebration was held.

First, these dear friends took Missy’s mother to lunch on the Saturday prior to her Monday birthday.   She has known these girls since their childhood, so visiting with them was just delightful way to note the passage of time.

Rheeta, 80, at her birthday lunch with Gail and Katie

As a followup, Missy instructed her mother to be ready on Monday (her actual birthday) at 12:30.  No other information was given except that she was to “look cute.”  That’s not hard for Rheeta.  She seems never to age.

So on Monday, Rheeta was escorted to the surprise community room at her apartment complex where a party was all set up.  Katie and Gail had done it all.  What a labor of love from two ladies with their own families and responsibilities to tend to!  Daughter Missy had ordered all the food and even had a gorgeous flower arrangement sent to her mother.

There she was greeted and congratulated by many of her friends.

And is so often said in small town newspapers (when small towns still had newspapers), “A good time was had by all.”

The next day Aunt Rheeta flew to Florida to spend time with my family.  But she  wanted to do something special to show her gratitude to Missy, Gail and Katie., the precious birthday fairies.

Machine embroidery to the rescue!  We retreated to my sewing room where we pulled out three dishtowels from my stash from All About Blanks. Rheeta sat right down at my Brother Quattro and embroidered three towels, one each for Missy and her two friends.

The first towel is shown above.  These are the other two towels.

We had so much fun working up the design, which is a combination of components from several collections.  Isn’t sewing wonderful?  And aren’t daughters and friends priceless?