Today I give thanks for mending.  I sat down this morning and did something that I rarely do.  I mended the tiny holes in several summer t-shirts and tank tops that I brought with me on vacation.  Apparently, I had put them away at the end of the summer, probably thinking I would worry about mending them later.  Then later I simply packed them in my suitcase, completely forgetting my intentions from summer.  It turns out they were unwearable!

 

Discovering a small sewing kit tucked away in the house we rented, I vowed to take action.  Of course, it took about ten days before I worked up the motivation to actually mend my clothing.  Why does it always take me so long to get around to such a small task?

 

Match thread to garment.  Cut a length. Twist the end of the thread with a bit of spit, then thread it through the eye of the needle.  Surprisingly, I found I only neeed the needle threader a couple of times.  After that, I could squint up my old eyes and get the thread through the teensy hole.  Amazing!

 

Back and forth, in and out, checking for frayed edges and for threads showing on the garment’s front.  My grandmother first taught me to mend – and to darn socks, using a wooden egg underneath for proper fit.  She also taught me to embroider and even to make my own clothes.  I rarely bought any clothing for the first eighteen years of my life.  Not even prom dresses or bathing suits!  Yet I haven’t sewn a piece of clothing in well over a decade – maybe even two decades.

 

There are so many tasks like this in life, aren’t there?  Things we don’t mind doing – or even enjoy doing – that we just put aside, thinking that maybe someday we will get back to them.  Mending a tear, sewing on a missing button, fixing a hem properly (not with scotch tape or stapes!), embroidering a flower, taking the time and effort to make a blouse or a pair of simple pants.  None of these are hard, yet how often do we do them?  They just don’t fit neatly onto my calendar – 9am: Patch jeans.

 

I also got to thinking about other kinds of creating and mending.  Creating friendships and communities among our neighbors, friends, and relatives.  Mending relationships with those we have hurt or lost touch with.  Why is it that these tasks, which are genuinely enjoyable, take so long to get around to?   Perhaps, just like my sewing tasks, they don’t fit neatly onto a to-do list –  2pm: Make a new friend, 4pm: Build community.

 

Today I give thanks for mending, for both the time to remember the past and my grandmother’s lessons and the time to reflect on those things, like friendship and community, that are most important for the future.