Keeper of the Bell

August 26th
a momentous day!

Jenn, second daughter,
in a trio of daughters was
born on this August day
40+ years ago.

Now don't lament
her middle child
birth order.

Jenn always disabused
"the poor middle-child"
nay sayers with:
"The middle of the sandwich
is best."

After a childhood flirtation
with knitting I picked up
the needles again when Jenn
was seven.

Every evening after supper
Jenn and I would sit on the
couch to read and knit.

Jenn set the goal: top reading group.
I set the goal: a handknit hoodie.

We started with the _Bobbsey Twins_.
She would read a page.
I would read a page.

In short order.
She would read to me
only asking for words
difficult to decode.

My knitting picked up speed.
She read to herself.

Soon she didn't want to wait
for me to finish the dishes
but was off on her own to read.

But the experience
knit us together.
We still share a love for books
(often long distance... and oh my!
the telephone bills.)

When she was ten
I taught her to crochet.

She crocheted white Christmas bells
with red borders, added real bells, and
yarn ties to gainsay the tree.

We gave them as presents.

She sold them for fifty cents
at the beauty parlor.
(The blue haired ladies were captivated.)

Only one bell remains.

(I can't fathom how the collection
was reduced to one.}

But I have hoarded and
cherished that one little bell
for years.

This year
along with the usual check and a book
I added the bell to Jenn's birthday stash.

Jennifer Ann Richards:
"Keeper of the Bell."