Back when my wife was pregnant with our first child, she was working at a Hotel.
They had a very nice medical benefit's package. When the doctor told her that she should take it easy during the last 6 weeks of her ordeal, her employer told her she could take a leave of absence and the insurance plan would cover her pay. Then, he would allow her to take the following 6 weeks after the birth, if timing worked out that way. 12 weeks total.
My wife cut back her hours instead, and was able to work until just before her labor. This allowed her to take almost all of the 12 weeks after she gave birth.
While she was at home, she decided to keep her hands busy by crocheting a blanket. Since she didn't have one single color of yarn (I can't spell skein!), she just picked up the next skein of yarn when she finished the last one.
Her work of art turned into an amazing creation.
Side track:
When we were growing up, we always had single beds, which were so small. So, one of the things we talked about was getting the biggest bed we could find when we got married.
I was able to find a king size water bed with full wave mattress for $100.00 in the paper. I bought it for it's sheer size. If you don't know anything about them, a king size water bed is bigger than a king size regular mattress bed. We didn't know this at the time, and didn't find out until we tried to buy sheets and blankets for it.
So, we had a king size blanket that was really too small for the king size water bed.
Hence, the reason for my wife to make her own larger blanket.
Back to the story now:
The blanket sometimes used more than one skein of yarn per row, so Donna tried to match the colors as best she could. But, with time, she was running out of options, so she just used what she had. We really didn't have the money to spend on new yarn, and I didn't see the purpose to buy more yarn when we still had some. I didn't mind the color mix and neither did she. I believe she used 19 skeins altogether, although my memory is weak about that.
When finished, the blanket draped over the bed very nicely, from top to bottom, and side to side. It more than covered the bed, so we had something that finally fit the huge bed.
We did buy a new mattress with baffles in it soon after we got the bed, but we kept the beautiful blanket as our main cover for a long time. It was a loosely woven blanket, so there were holes in between the stitches, but it kept us warm none the less. It stretched with us, and never shrank, even though we washed it many times. It was a real bear to hang to dry, however, because it stretched so much, and was so big.
Over time, some of the stitches came loose and had to be repaired. There were also some small holes that formed. But the blanket stayed comfortable for us.
The dogs slept on it. The cats slept on it. The kids slept on it. We slept on it and under it. It was part of the family.
When we later got rid of that water bed and had a new one made for us, the blanket made the transfer right along with us.
Through the years when I got too fat, I was always too warm, and Donna always too cold. I would get leg cramps from the heavy blankets that Donna used. She added an electric blanket when we got rid of the water mattress and replaced it with a regular mattress (Called a California King). I decided to finally spend some money and bought a goose down blanket. It was very light, and sooooo warm. I used to push or fold the other blankets over so that I didn't have to sleep with them. Donna had her half dozen blankets, and I had just two. The goose down, and the tutti frutti colored blanket. I also hated top sheets, so I would push the sheet over and sleep under the blankets.
This covers the time from around 1979 when she started making the blanket, until March of 2010.
Donna went into the hospital in February 2010, and never came home. Sometime in March, I decided I needed to get the best sleep I could, so I arranged the bed to my liking. Everything before that time was a compromise (and one that I would gladly make again if she were beside me). I took all of the blankets off the bed, except for the goose down. I threw out the electric blanket, and stored the crocheted one after washing it.
When Donna died, I cleared a lot of stuff out, but kept the blanket in a laundry hamper next to the bed.
There it stayed until this past Sunday night. I changed out the sheets and decided to put it onto the bed. Actually, that's not true.
I did have it on the bed, but it was folded in half and only on Donna's side. I don't sleep on that side, even though I can sleep anywhere I want now.
It was just this past weekend that I decided to unfold it and sleep with it.
It smelled wonderful, and felt so soft. I didn't even mind the extra weight because it stretches so nicely.
This is where the story goes off the deep end a bit:
I usually have good dreams. Even when I have bad ones, I can remember afterward where they come from. That is, what part of the recent events caused me to remember things. My brain kind of "de-frags", mixing and matching events that occurred, sometimes out of order. I dream accordingly, so if I see a good movie, I live in that movie while experiencing events that actually occurred during the past week or so.
When I wake in the morning, things usually seem a little more normal for me.
Well, as soon as I started sleeping with this blanket, things have gone all out of proportion. I have had some very wild dreams, and even what I would refer to as nightmares. The events from the past week are still sorting themselves out, but there are other things that don't seem to fit, or they fit badly. Good events turn bad and so on.
I have been having this problem since I started using the blanket. I haven't had a good night's sleep. I am waking up after each nightmare and having trouble getting back to sleep.
I decided that am going to keep sleeping with the blanket until it is finished unloading all of it's memories. I believe this is all part of the grieving process. The crazy thing is I thought the grieving was finished for now, with only minor interruptions in my life. Apparently not.
So, the journey goes on. I will keep using the blanket until one of us wins the battle. I hope it's me. I don't think the blanket can take care of the house if I'm not here.
They had a very nice medical benefit's package. When the doctor told her that she should take it easy during the last 6 weeks of her ordeal, her employer told her she could take a leave of absence and the insurance plan would cover her pay. Then, he would allow her to take the following 6 weeks after the birth, if timing worked out that way. 12 weeks total.
My wife cut back her hours instead, and was able to work until just before her labor. This allowed her to take almost all of the 12 weeks after she gave birth.
While she was at home, she decided to keep her hands busy by crocheting a blanket. Since she didn't have one single color of yarn (I can't spell skein!), she just picked up the next skein of yarn when she finished the last one.
Her work of art turned into an amazing creation.
Side track:
When we were growing up, we always had single beds, which were so small. So, one of the things we talked about was getting the biggest bed we could find when we got married.
I was able to find a king size water bed with full wave mattress for $100.00 in the paper. I bought it for it's sheer size. If you don't know anything about them, a king size water bed is bigger than a king size regular mattress bed. We didn't know this at the time, and didn't find out until we tried to buy sheets and blankets for it.
So, we had a king size blanket that was really too small for the king size water bed.
Hence, the reason for my wife to make her own larger blanket.
Back to the story now:
The blanket sometimes used more than one skein of yarn per row, so Donna tried to match the colors as best she could. But, with time, she was running out of options, so she just used what she had. We really didn't have the money to spend on new yarn, and I didn't see the purpose to buy more yarn when we still had some. I didn't mind the color mix and neither did she. I believe she used 19 skeins altogether, although my memory is weak about that.
When finished, the blanket draped over the bed very nicely, from top to bottom, and side to side. It more than covered the bed, so we had something that finally fit the huge bed.
We did buy a new mattress with baffles in it soon after we got the bed, but we kept the beautiful blanket as our main cover for a long time. It was a loosely woven blanket, so there were holes in between the stitches, but it kept us warm none the less. It stretched with us, and never shrank, even though we washed it many times. It was a real bear to hang to dry, however, because it stretched so much, and was so big.
Over time, some of the stitches came loose and had to be repaired. There were also some small holes that formed. But the blanket stayed comfortable for us.
The dogs slept on it. The cats slept on it. The kids slept on it. We slept on it and under it. It was part of the family.
When we later got rid of that water bed and had a new one made for us, the blanket made the transfer right along with us.
Through the years when I got too fat, I was always too warm, and Donna always too cold. I would get leg cramps from the heavy blankets that Donna used. She added an electric blanket when we got rid of the water mattress and replaced it with a regular mattress (Called a California King). I decided to finally spend some money and bought a goose down blanket. It was very light, and sooooo warm. I used to push or fold the other blankets over so that I didn't have to sleep with them. Donna had her half dozen blankets, and I had just two. The goose down, and the tutti frutti colored blanket. I also hated top sheets, so I would push the sheet over and sleep under the blankets.
This covers the time from around 1979 when she started making the blanket, until March of 2010.
Donna went into the hospital in February 2010, and never came home. Sometime in March, I decided I needed to get the best sleep I could, so I arranged the bed to my liking. Everything before that time was a compromise (and one that I would gladly make again if she were beside me). I took all of the blankets off the bed, except for the goose down. I threw out the electric blanket, and stored the crocheted one after washing it.
When Donna died, I cleared a lot of stuff out, but kept the blanket in a laundry hamper next to the bed.
There it stayed until this past Sunday night. I changed out the sheets and decided to put it onto the bed. Actually, that's not true.
I did have it on the bed, but it was folded in half and only on Donna's side. I don't sleep on that side, even though I can sleep anywhere I want now.
It was just this past weekend that I decided to unfold it and sleep with it.
It smelled wonderful, and felt so soft. I didn't even mind the extra weight because it stretches so nicely.
This is where the story goes off the deep end a bit:
I usually have good dreams. Even when I have bad ones, I can remember afterward where they come from. That is, what part of the recent events caused me to remember things. My brain kind of "de-frags", mixing and matching events that occurred, sometimes out of order. I dream accordingly, so if I see a good movie, I live in that movie while experiencing events that actually occurred during the past week or so.
When I wake in the morning, things usually seem a little more normal for me.
Well, as soon as I started sleeping with this blanket, things have gone all out of proportion. I have had some very wild dreams, and even what I would refer to as nightmares. The events from the past week are still sorting themselves out, but there are other things that don't seem to fit, or they fit badly. Good events turn bad and so on.
I have been having this problem since I started using the blanket. I haven't had a good night's sleep. I am waking up after each nightmare and having trouble getting back to sleep.
I decided that am going to keep sleeping with the blanket until it is finished unloading all of it's memories. I believe this is all part of the grieving process. The crazy thing is I thought the grieving was finished for now, with only minor interruptions in my life. Apparently not.
So, the journey goes on. I will keep using the blanket until one of us wins the battle. I hope it's me. I don't think the blanket can take care of the house if I'm not here.
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