1 • Yiayia's Blanket

Yiayia's Blanket

Yiayia's blankets aren't fancy. She uses the same stitch for each one. But they are warm--warm in how they keep out the cold air, and warm in how she must hold us in her heart as she stitch-by-stitch adds row after row after row. This blanket is for Stefanie. I'm not sure how much of Yiayia Stefanie will remember -- but right now they are "friends." Stefanie loves to bring Yiayia her dolls, to play catch with a balloon, to spontaneously exclaim, "You're the best!" and wrap her short little arms around Yiayia's sweatered shoulders. I can only imagine that as Yiayia's fingers rock back and forth she is savoring those sweet moments in her mind, and that as she tugs at the length of yarn, sending the skein rolling into Lego territory, she is perhaps praying for all of the milestones of Stefanie's future. Maybe this length of yarn has her thinking ahead to all the years of school, and praying for good teachers and a safe place to learn. Maybe the next length is a prayer for a good and kind husband. Her hands have seen so much--from her first home on Zakinthos, a war, an arranged marriage, a new country, the birth of children, the sickness and death of relatives. Those same hands, soft with wrinkles, are caressing each inch of yarn, as her thoughts and prayers will undoubtedly touch each moment of my children's lives, no matter how long she is with us. That at least is how I feel, especially when I crawl into bed at night under the weight of a blanket crocheted by my own great-grandmother, may her memory be eternal. And perhaps that is the point as well--that through these sweet expressions of hand-made blankets, we can remember them, love and pray for them as well.