Memories

I went searching for Mum’s button box because I need more buttons for my charity knits.

Everything in her workroom is labelled and I’m sad that she can no longer choose from the materials to work with.

I’ve been thinking about her a lot. It’s because Margret is on the ward where Mum died. A lot of the practical skills I use in caring for Margret were taught to me by Mum. She noticed details and made sure that people were comfortable.

I thought there must be a button tin, but I had forgotten that the buttons are in the old soap box from my childhood. Mr Wu was a soap present to me one Christmas. Grotesque really, but I loved him.

All these years on, he still protects the buttons. I sorted out all the flat ones and tried to make a rainbow, unsuccessfully.

There are some bone buttons. There are buttons that evoke strong memories of the garments they graced. Mainly they are the extras that were kept because we didn’t remove buttons from garments donated to charity.

The purple ones with the pink flowers are very special. Mum had bought them before I was born and loved them, but they were never sewn into a garment. I can’t part with them yet.

Margret was chirpier but needed a blood transfusion today. She did not feel up to having visitors and, thankfully no one came until the hospital chaplain. I retreated with a large pile of washing and with Margret’s advice as to how to wash it ringing in my ears!