Cotten Tales: An Art Piece (30 days of me)

ugh. i know, i fail. life gets busy.. and life comes before blogging.

so let's continue on & i'll try to catch up.. but if i don't finish it within the "30 days".. i'll at least do them all! heehee!

today, i share something with you that i hold dear to my heart & it is hanging in our office/exercise room.

i love this painting. this was painted by my mom & i. my mom was really atsy, crafty & creative. she was a woman of many talents. she was a great cook. she sewed & embroidered. she drew & painted. our house was always nicely decorated. and i am ashamed to say that i did not pick up on her skills. but i do want to learn!!

when my mom was undergoing chemo treatments, the hospital she was in had a program for the cancer patients. if they decided to participate, each patient was given a square & it was a paint by numbers type of project. when the patient was finished with their square, they would gather 4 squares together & it would make a bigger painting. there was usually four people that worked on one painting. when they were done with the paintings, they would auction them to raise money for the hospital or hang them on the walls in the cancer institute.

one day, one of the ladies that led the project asked my mom if she wanted to do her own painting because they just loved the way she painted.. and my mom said yes. i remember she & i would sit in her hospital bed & paint the squares together. it was a nice little project she & i both did. it was a nice way to get your mind off of "cancer".. it was a great reprieve for my mom to do something she loved when she was confined to the quarantine room & beeping machines (she was very sick & sensitive & needed a room to herself). when we were finished with all the squares, we handed them over to the project leader.

when my mom "graduated" (actually was told sorry, there's nothing more we can do), the ladies had a surprise for her. they had the painting waiting for her.. and wanted her to keep it! it was a nice little surprise! so when we got home, we put the painting over my bed. when i got married, i was sure to bring it along with me... and i have a ralph lauren comforter set that matches the painting perfectly. there have been a few times that i have wanted to change the comforter set, but i don't want to bring the painting down.

i consider this painting a treasure. and every time, i see it.. i am reminded of her.. and what an amazing person she was. and i am glad i own something that she poured her heart into.